Kuldeep Yadav bagged the Player of the Match award in the third and series-deciding ODI against South Africa on Tuesday in Delhi for his brilliant bowling figures of 4/18 in only 4.1 overs with wickets of Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen, Bjorn Fortuin and Anrich Nortje.
Even in the previous two ODIs, the South African batters had struggled to pick Kuldeep’s variations and his turn. And on a treacherous, slow, low, turning track in Delhi, the conditions were tailormade for spinners to thrive and for the Protea batters to lay their weapons down.
Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmad also took two wickets each and Kuldeep’s show mesmerized everyone as barely any Protea batsman could decipher his variations and played a series of defensive and false shots resulting in their downfall.
From 66/5, it unravelled quickly for the visitors and South Africa were bundled out for only 99 – their lowest ODI total against India.
Kuldeep Yadav completes a stunning comeback to Team India
Kuldeep Yadav had picked up one wicket each in the previous two ODI and snapped three wickets in as many ODIs in Zimbabwe. Between the two series, he’d scalped 7 wickets in 3 List-A matches against New Zealand A. This revival of Kuldeep had started during the IPL 2022 where he finished with 21 wickets in the season.
In an interview after the first innings got over, Kuldeep Yadav said that his rhythm has been his key focus when he’d been working hard on his comeback.
“It was perfect. It’s been going well since the IPL. Today, I missed the hat-trick but it was still great. Maybe I could have gone over the wicket but thinking too much can make it go away. Siraj, Avesh and others bowled well. The wicket was gripping. I mixed up the pace and set the batters with the fields. I was working on my rhythm in the past few months. I was a bit slower, but quickened up post-injury. But haven’t lost the spin, the rhythm has been the focus,” Kuldeep said.
The chase was quite straightforward with Shubman Gill, after twin failures, re-asserting his form and class, timing beautifully 8 boundaries in his 57-ball 49-run knock even as Dhawan and Kishan struggled and got out for cheap scores. Shreyas Iyer remained unbeaten on 28 off 23 in the company of Sanju Samson and finished the chase in 19.1 overs.
In the post-match presentation, Kuldeep reiterated: “Feeling very happy, to be honest. Getting the Player of the Match award, the wicket was perfect and I am enjoying my bowling. I am not thinking too much about the result, just focusing on the process and focusing on my rhythm. I am trying to bowl in good areas.”
