Kuldeep Yadav celebrates a wicket through the last T20I match between South Africa and India on the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on December 14, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP
Surprised by the spin on provide through the third T20I at The Wanderers in Johannes, Kuldeep Yadav mentioned the South African wickets, usually recognized for his or her tempo and bounce, are additionally suiting spinners in the ongoing tour.
Kuldeep had an ideal twenty ninth birthday on Thursday as he grew to become solely the second Indian bowler to select up two five-wicket hauls in T20Is after Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He grew to become the primary Indian spinner to succeed in the landmark.
“It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets. I just wanted the team to win which is more important,” Kuldeep mentioned.
“I was concerned about my bowling because I was playing after sometime, so wanted to get my rhythm. It was perfect today. The ball was coming out well from the hand and the conditions too suited the spinners a bit.”
Kuldeep returned with figures of 5/17 from 2.5 overs as India beat South Africa by 106 runs to assist India end the three-match T20 sequence tied at 1-1.
“To be very honest, the wickets are very good for the spinners. The good thing about these wickets are that the ball comes very quickly after pitching. So sometimes, you have to vary your variations and if you get it right then it is very difficult to pick,” he added.
Kuldeep final performed in South Africa in 2018 however a knee damage in 2021, for which he underwent surgical procedure, halted his profession for 6-7 months.
However, he efficiently returned again to the sphere with a brand new method.
“In 2018, I was very new and after that, couple of years I struggled with my injury and post surgery I came back and made a few changes in my bowling, especially in my run-up. Trying to be more aggressive and just trying to bowl much straighter and focussing on length,” Kuldeep mentioned.
Just like his teammates, it took a while for Kuldeep to beat the loss in the ODI World Cup last to Australia.
“Starting was really difficult. First 7 to 10 days were really tough. Whenever I was waking up, the thought of losing the World Cup final was haunting me. But life changes and moves on. I got an opportunity to play in South Africa, I last played here in 2018 so I knew the conditions well,” he mentioned.
“In cricket what you want never happens and you have to learn from them and implement those in future matches.”
Captain Suryakumar Yadav’s fiery 56-ball 100 laid the platform for India’s 201 for 7 in the third T20I, which the Proteas didn’t chase down after being dismissed for 95 in 13.5 overs.
“Surya bhai batted brilliantly. The way he was batting was great to watch because the pitch was not that easy for batting. It was really a treat to watch him bat,” Kuldeep mentioned.
The tour will now shift to three-match ODI sequence beginning Sunday in Johannesburg.
