Bharat Arun, the Indian bowling coach, has praised the young left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav after he claimed his second five-wicket haul in Test career on the rain-interrupted day four of the Sydney Test.
Playing his first Test of the series, Kuldeep dominated over the hosts Australian batsmen as his brilliant bowling has helped to enforce the follow-on. In the reply of India’s first innings total 622/7 decl, Australia were bundled out for just 300 runs and Kuldeep had a bowling figure of 31.5-6-99-5.
Talking about Kuldeep’s bowling, Arun said at the end of the day four, “Kuldeep is a very skill full bowler as he has proved it. He has had a very successful stint in ODIs, and probably he is the number one bowler in the one-day format. He is unique in the sense that very few chinaman bowlers around the world at the moment. Also, he brings googly to the fore.
“And what makes him even more special is his ability to use the crease. He can bowl from over and round the wicket, and he can bowl closer to the wicket and also from wide of the crease. That gives him a lot variety. And I think there is a lot to come from that young kid.
“He didn’t have a great outing in England when he played, but this Test match would give him a lot of confidence. And considering a spinner and his age, I think he has got a lot of cricket left in him.”
The visiting side Indian cricket team has come up with two regular spinners in this Test – the left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and the left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. However, some experts have doubted on that decision but Arun clarified that they were confident in their decision as the spinners picked up a total of seven wickets during Australia’s first innings in this game.
Arun added, “Earlier we had played a practice game at Sydney and also the T20 match. So we were quite aware of the conditions that existed and also we felt that if at all we need to play two spinners that would be at Sydney.”
During the previous Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, India had a chance to enforce the follow-on but they decided to bat instead of the follow-on. However, in the ongoing Sydney Test, India finally have enforced the follow-on after achieving the first-innings lead of 322 runs. Since 1988, it is the first time ever when Australia have been enforced the follow-on in Australia.
Talking about the follow-on decision, Arun revealed, “Yesterday, when Australia were 150-odd for five, and also taking into account the weather forecast, we said that we would definitely enforce the follow-on if we get them out pretty sizeably.
“This is probably one of the best wickets we have played on from the batsmen’s point of view. So, we were aware that to win this game we need that many overs to bowl at. Also the fact that weather was a lot kinder than what it was in the first three days and also the fact it’s a great opportunity for us to make it 3-1 scoreline.”
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India is on the verge to win their historic Test series in Australia for the first time ever as they are already leading the series by 2-1. Arun credited the disciplined bowling by the Indian pacers who have wisely used the experiences in the ongoing tour.
Arun said, “We do have a lot of respect for their fast-bowling attack and I think they are probably one of the best in the world. But we were more focused on what we could do, and we have also come to Australia previously so we knew how the wickets would be in Australia – very similar to the ones we got in South Africa.
“We drew upon all those experiences and said that to be successful in Australia, we need to make sure that we took the cut and pull out of the Australian batsmen, and then focus on our strengths. That’s exactly what we did.
“I don’t think we are motivated just because we are on the winning side. The onus of this team particularly is always putting the team in front.”
In early 2018, India lost the three-match Test series in South Africa by 2-1. Later, in the middle of 2018, India lost the five-match Test series against the hosts England by 4-1 but Arun feels they were very close to winning in England. Arun claimed those experiences have worked for them in the ongoing tour as they haven’t made those similar mistakes once again.
Arun said, “When we started off, it was a great opportunity for us in South Africa, and then in England. Though the scoreline in England suggests a totally different viewpoint, I thought we were very close to winning in England. We did make mistakes there, and we thought hard as to where we went wrong.
“We said that those are the very areas where we would focus as we go forward. You can’t be making the same mistakes again and again. I thought those two tours were great experience for us and that has helped us immensely to come and well in Australia.
“As for the tailenders, I would say we were too eager to get them out. So we said ‘let’s bowl to the tail just as we would to the top half’. Those were the mistakes we made and I thought they came in handy here.”
