Buoyed by the presence of his idol Shane Warne at the Eden Gardens, Kuldeep Yadav bagged a four-fer as Kolkata Knight Riders thumped Rajasthan Royals by six wickets in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday night.
The chinaman bowler, who had been going through a lean patch, got his touch back to check the rampaging RR batsmen.
"When you bowl confidently, you get turn. When I got wickets, the pressure was on the batsmen and I gained confidence.
"Jos Buttler's wicket was the most important. If he had played for 10 overs, the score would have reached 170-180. For me, Buttler (who made a 22-ball 39) was the main wicket. It went according to my plan,” Kuldeep said after the match.
Reflecting on his uncharacteristically defensive mindset which might have resulted in him getting hammered by Mumbai Indians batsmen - 43 from 3 overs - in KKR's 102-run loss, Kuldeep said going back to the basics helped him.
"Sometimes, you ignore your strength. When things were not going my way, I spoke to my coach and he told me, 'Just stick to your basics and don't try too much.' I just followed the same process.”
The young spinner was inspired to perform in the presence of Warne, the RR mentor. "I am a big fan of him (Warne). He has been my idol. I get a different kind of motivation when I play in front of him. I wanted to put up a good show in front of him.
"I spoke to him after the match. I have already started my planning for the upcoming England series. It was a brief conversation. Maybe after the IPL, I will again get a chance to talk to him," Kuldeep said.
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