After a brilliant match-winning performance with the ball against Windies in the first T20I at Eden Gardens (Kolkata) on Sunday night, the 23-year-old left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav claimed that the familiar condition helped him to get this success.
The Player of the Match award winner Kuldeep Yadav had a bowling figure of 4-0-13-3 that helped the team to restrict Windies to just 109/8 (20 overs) at the end of the first batting. In reply, Dinesh Karthik and the debutant Krunal Pandya guided India to a convincing victory in the end.
During the post-match presentation, Kuldeep said on his performance, “Very important to take wickets. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. But that’s my aim. The first wicket (of Bravo) was the one I cherished. It’s the ball I’m working on (faster one). Just bowl it to contain runs as well.”
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Later, he also admitted that his IPL experiences at Eden Gardens played a massive role for his success in this T20I game. He has played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since 2014.
The young spinner quoted, “Definitely, it (knowing the conditions) plays a part. It’s been five years with KKR. I have played all the IPL games here. It gives you a massive advantage when you play a lot of matches like I have played at Eden Gardens. I know the ground, I know the conditions, I know the wicket as well, so everything is in my favour.”
Meanwhile, chasing the 110-run target, India had a weak start but Dinesh Karthik played an important role for this victory by playing an unbeaten knock of 31 runs off 34 balls (3 fours and only six). Kuldeep again credited Karthik’s IPL experience as he led the KKR side in IPL 2018.
Talking about Karthik’s brilliant responsible knock, Kuldeep said, “He (Karthik) batted really well. Because the conditions were in his favour. He led KKR in the last IPL season so was well aware of the conditions. It was also difficult because there were wickets falling at the other end and you had to rein yourself in. It was a very important innings for us. Credit goes to him.”
Kuldeep also praised the Windies bowlers, who made it tough for the hosts to chase the little target.
He said on Windies’ bowlers’ performances, “Sometimes, small totals like 110 become difficult to chase. At Eden Gardens, the ball swings later in the second innings. They bowled well, they bowled in perfect areas that made it really tough for us.”
