India vs Australia: Kuldeep returns to haunt the Aussies
From tormenting Australia in his debut Test in Dharamsala to running the rings around its batsmen at the SCG, Kuldeep Yadav's left-arm wrist spin continues to baffle the host side.
Published : Jan 05, 2019 23:09 IST
Left-arm wrist spin has come back to torment Australia again. More specifically Kuldeep Yadav. The talented Kuldeep whipped up a Test series-winning spell of four for 68 in the decider against Australia in Dharamsala in 2017.
And now he has returned to run rings around the Australians here in the fourth Test. He was enjoying himself at the SCG on Saturday.
Watching his bowling was the legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne. Actually, Warne has spent some time in India teaching Kuldeep some of his tricks.
Flipper guru
For instance, Kuldeep has revealed that he learnt bowling the flipper from Warne. The Aussie superstar is also Kuldeep’s idol.
Whenever Kuldeep gets time, he watches videos of Warne’s famous spells. He will catch up with the Aussie maestro during the Test.
Another Australian Brad Hogg, a versatile wrist spinner who has played a significant role in Australia’s ODI World Cup triumphs, has guided Kuldeep during the IPL.
Hogg was impressed by Kuldeep’s potential and took him under his wing at the Kolkata Knight Riders camp.
Talking about Kuldeep, Hogg told Sportstar a few months ago, “Kuldeep has a very quick-arm action that bamboozles the batsmen.”
The Aussies have run into problems with left-arm wrist spin against Lakshan Sandakan of Sri Lanka.
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Actually, Australia produced one of the finest left-arm wrist spinners in Chuck Fleetwood-Smith. He made his Test debut in 1935 and took 42 wickets in 10 Tests. He also finished with a whopping 597 First Class wickets.
More recently, in the 1990s, Michael Bevan, better known for his left-handed batting, was another practitioner of the art.
In his 29 Test wickets was a 10-wicket match haul against the West Indies in Adelaide, 1997.
Now, Australia is at the receiving end. Kuldeep has a busy two days ahead.