Kuldeep Yadav was on song, the ball as if on a string in the 3rd and series-deciding ODI against Australia, on Wednesday, in Chennai.
The ball with which he dismissed a well-set Alex Carey encapsulated his magic, this trickery, and, most importantly for India, his good form and high confidence.
And even breaking up of his spells didn’t alter his rhythm. When he came into the attack in his second spell, in the 39th over of Australia’s innings, Kuldeep Yadav struck with the crucial wicket of Alex Carey, who had gotten himself going onto the Chepauk pitch which had proved to be difficult for hitting against spinners.
Kuldeep Yadav has 15 wickets in 8 ODIs in 2023
Forget about hitting, Carey didn’t even understand Kuldeep Yadav’s ball that got him out. The chinaman drifted it beautifully into the batter and it pitched around leg stump on length. Baffled first by the length and the drift, Carey couldn’t decide assuredly whether to go on the front foot or the back foot; to play safe, in order to play the ball as late as possible after adjusting for the turn off the surface, Carey decided to stay on the back foot.
Little did he know how much the ball was going to turn, and so sharply. Little could he do. The ball turned away and moved swiftly to hit the top of the off-stump, leaving Carey, and the Aussies in the dressing room, befuddled.
The look on Alex Carey’s face said it all before he started walking toward the dressing room as Kuldeep Yadav jumped in the air and roared in delight in the backdrop of a cheering Chepauk crowd.
Watch: Kuldeep Yadav bowls out Alex Carey with a ripper
Before Carey’s dismissal, Kuldeep Yadav had taken the wickets of David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne, both caught in the deep looking for the boundary but mistiming their shots. The leg-spinner finished his spell with figures of 10-1-56-3. He got great support from Jadeja at the other end, who returned with figures of 0/34 in 10 overs.
Hardik Pandya was the one who broke the 68-run opening stand, and he went on to take the first 3 wickets of Head, Smith, and Marsh before Kuldeep got into his act.
Alex Carey is beaten by a ripping leg-break from Kuldeep Yadav https://t.co/fxzcM70kwy #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/sxqOe0vi9i
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 22, 2023
The reaction says it all 😢 Kuldeep You Magician #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/GpczzHTPlV
— India Fantasy (@india_fantasy) March 22, 2023
IND vs AUS 3rd ODI Playing XIs:
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey(w), Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
