Kuldeep Yadav felt at home in the Ekana Stadium and England paid the price. The spinner with roots in Uttar Pradesh, found purchase from the track and his two for 24 proved crucial in India’s 100-run triumph over the rivals here in the World Cup game. “It feels good to bowl at home. There was spin but there was also the dew factor. It was all about bowling the right lengths. I did well but more importantly, the team won and that gives me joy,” Kuldeep told the media on Sunday night.
Asked about India’s 229, Kuldeep replied: “We knew on this surface a target of 230 can be defended. Rohit bhai played a good knock. It was all about getting two wickets in the Power Play which Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami did. Then they were four down and it becomes difficult. As a spinner, I just had to maintain that pressure on England.”
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Earlier, with India losing wickets, the tail did come into play and Kuldeep had his views: “We practise batting at the nets. It would be nice if individually, we can contribute 15 to 20 runs and stitch partnerships. We are not regular batters and we don’t think like them so, if there are two dot balls, then we do feel the pressure. It was good that we scored a few today.”
As for England’s decline, Kuldeep explained: “They are a fantastic team and changed the way the game is played over the last few years. All teams tend to have these low phases. As for us, we just want to play good cricket and not think too much about the opposition.” And regarding the semifinals, Kuldeep countered: “We have another three league games and we can think about the semifinals and who we will play against later.”
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