Playing in his fourth Test, Kuldeep picked up 5-57 in the West Indies' second innings to help India register an innings and 272 run-win in the opening Test at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium here on Saturday
India's Kuldeep Yadav in full flight during Day Three of the first Test against West Indies in Rajkot on Saturday. Pic/AFP
After being on the verge of claiming five wickets in an innings a couple of times, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, 21, finally achieved the feat here on Saturday. Playing in his fourth Test, Kuldeep picked up 5-57 in the West Indies' second innings to help India register an innings and 272 run-win in the opening Test at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium here on Saturday.
Fifer two good
Kuldeep become only the second Indian bowler after Bhuvneshwar Kumar to claim a fifer in all three formats of the game. However, in his short Test career, Kuldeep has experienced turbulence. His exemplary performance in limited overs cricket helped him get into the Test reckoning. In his debut Test, Kuldeep claimed 4-68 in the first innings against Australia at Dharamsala last year.
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In his second opportunity that came against Sri Lanka in the third Test at Pallekele, Kuldeep again claimed 4-40 in the first innings and managed one wicket in the second innings.
The promise he showed forced the selectors to pick him for the Test series in England. From being touted as the only spinner who can make a huge impact on the English batsmen, Kuldeep was sent home after getting just one outing at Lord's where he bowled nine overs and went for 44 runs without getting a wicket. Upon his return, Kuldeep went back to his childhood coach Kapil Pandey to sort out issues with his bowling.
Back to basics
"I went to my coach after returning from England. I bowled a lot with the red ball for three to four days. It was difficult for me since playing with the white ball you tend to lose the rhythm [for red-ball cricket].
"I was with my coach, concentrated a lot on bowling around the wicket as well as over the wicket, on my release and also on the pace since your pace increases in one-day cricket. But when you play Test cricket you have to 'air' the ball and hope the batsman will take his chance," said a delighted Kuldeep after his performance on Saturday.
Kuldeep was back to his best when he played Australia 'A' in the two unofficial Tests in Bangalore before the Asia Cup. He claimed a fifer in the second match at Alur, near Bangalore.
Kuldeep, who returned with figures of 1-62 in the first innings against the visitors here, made a few adjustments when the follow-on was enforced. "I had to guard against that extra flight because these West Indian batsmen have the power game; they can score freely. When I started my first spell in the morning [on Saturday], I was thinking of going for wickets. They were going for runs too, so I thought they would give me a chance in the process.
"But when I came back for the second spell, I only focused on the areas I wanted to land the ball on. I wasn't planning on giving it too much flight. I focused on accuracy rather than experiment too much," explained Kuldeep.
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