Dhoni mind behind Kuldeep magic
Hit for three sixes by Maxwell in the first ODI, Chinaman bowler gets even with hattrick at Eden
KOLKATA:Kuldeep Yadav’s supple wrists are making one statement after another. While the chinaman bowler’s confidence and ability to executive his skill under pressure is evident, it has further convinced skipper Virat Kohli that wrist spinners are the way to go as India gear up for the 2019 World Cup in England.
After he became only the third Indian – after Chetan Sharma (1987) and Kapil Dev (1991) – to take an ODI hattrick, sending Australia crashing to defeat, Kuldeep had one man to thank – MS Dhoni.
Kuldeep dismissed Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins off successive deliveries in the 33rd over, claiming 3/54, as India won by 50 runs to go 2-0 up in the five-match series. Kuldeep confessed after the win that Glenn Maxwell hitting him for three sixes in the first ODI haunted him. That also explains his slightly expensive figures.
“Initially I was struggling to bowl in a particular area. It’s a game of cricket, everything happens. Last match, where I was hit for three sixes in an over, was a learning experience. I asked Mahi bhai what I should bowl, he said ‘tujhe jaisa lagta hai wo
daal (bowl what you feel like)’. This (hat-trick) is special for me, it changed the game for us.”
Virat Kohli was elated. “Two young spinners (Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal) bowling with a lot of heart speaks volumes about their character. It really augurs well for us, how the team is shaping up.”
Kuldeep has said he prefers the tag quality to mystery when people talk about his bowling.
“I don’t believe in mystery. Mystery to ye hoti ke ajeeb-o-gareeb action se ball phenk di. Mera action ekdum smooth hai, ball
bahut achchhi nikalti hai. (Mystery means bowling with an odd action, mine is smooth and the ball comes out of my hand really well.)
“I don’t like this tag. Bowling quality balls is the biggest mystery. Even Sunil Narine — you can’t say he is mystery, he mixes up well, it’s his kalakaari. Shane Warne was not mystery; it was his skill, his quality. I prefer the word quality over mystery,” Kuldeep told Indian Express.
“When I started, Shane Warne was the biggest name in spin bowling. My coach used to show me his videos and tell me ‘bowl like him, copy him’. He wanted me to release the ball like Warne, drift and turn the ball as he would. Mera maksad abhi bhi ye hi hai ke 20-30 % bhi Warne ki tarah ban gaya to samjho meri
life safal ho gayi.” (if I achieve 20-30 % of what Warne did, I’ll consider I have delivered).
Kuldeep recalled the ‘nervous’ night before his Test debut in March. “It was on the eve of the (Dharamsala) Test (then coach) Anil Kumble sir told me I might play. ‘Paanch wicket layni hain’
(must take five wickets), he said. At that time I said confidently,
zaroor lunga sir. But when he left, I became nervous. Practice kar ke, thak ke aaya tha, to kuchh
samajh mein nahi aa raha tha .I slept at nine, woke up at 3 am. I kept tossing and turning , waiting for dawn. But time didn’t pass.”
Mystery means bowling with an odd action, mine is smooth and the ball comes out of my hand really well. On his dislike of the tag I didn’t think I would get a wicket if the ball spun in... There was a slip in place, so I chose the wrong ‘un. On his hattrick ball