Not afraid of being hit for 6s: Kuldeep

MANCHESTER: It’s not a fluke that Kuldeep Yadav is producing special performances in big games on a consistent basis. Confident about his skills, he has a clear plan in mind for every game and the means to implement it.

England felt the full force of his ability in the T20 International on Tuesday at Old Trafford when he grabbed five wickets for 24 runs to puncture their confidence. Early last year, he had come up with an equally delightful display in his debut Test to turn the series decider in India’s favour against Australia. In the limited-overs series against South Africa early this year, he picked 17 wickets in the six ODIS.

Finding the hot and dry conditions at Manchester to his liking, Kuldeep held centre-stage in the opening skirmish with England displaying craft, control and skill.

It’s his length, which entices batsmen with flight, and the ability to turn and dip the ball. “England are a very good side in ODIS and T20s. They play really well in their conditions. It’s down to the length you bowl. If you bowl the right length and have good variations, any batsman will struggle,” said Kuldeep after creating doubts in the minds of English batsmen with a performance that shattered their confidence.

“Whatever I learnt in childhood — in Kanpur — I am trying to follow here. I have never been afraid of getting hit (for sixes), I think that’s the biggest plus. I used to practice getting hit for sixes so that when I get hit in the match I don’t feel the pressure.”

Kuldeep finished with a fivewicket haul, picking up all the big names. Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Alex Hales all failed to read the Chinaman bowler’s variations.

In the 14th over of the innings, Kuldeep claimed three wickets in four balls to put India in control.

Sharing his thought process Kuldeep said, “England’s start with the bat was good. The wicket was a bit dry. It felt like there was a chance it’d turn a bit at the start, but it didn’t. (So) I varied my pace. I thought if I bowl a bit slower, maybe there’d be chances... Then when I came to bowl the second over, I kept the pace down, and increased the flight and maintained it. I maintained my length. After the wicket of Morgan, I kept going ball by ball. The plan was to stretch the batsmen... I didn’t want to give them any pace.”

Buttler was the only batsmen who stood the spin test with a half-century. Having matched wits many times during the IPL, Kuldeep knew the England ’keeper-batsman would be tough to crack, hence his gameplan was to contain the Rajasthan Royals star while targeting his teammates.

“I’ve bowled a lot to Buttler, even in IPL. So, I knew his plans. I knew he won’t take the chance against me. He’d go for singles and doubles, and won’t hit me. So I was happy to give him that single, because the others have never faced me, so I thought I had (better) chances of getting them.”