IND vs ENG 5th Test: India's spin wizard Kuldeep Yadav takes limelight on Day 1

Kuldeep Yadav (2nd from left) displays the ball after his five-wicket haul on Day One of the fifth Test against England at Dharamsala yesterday. Pic/AFP

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav stole the thunder on Day One of the fifth and final Test against England here on Thursday. The focus was on R Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow, both playing their 100th match. However, Kuldeep hogged all the limelight with a devastating 15-over spell in the morning to snatch the initiative for India. He made quick inroads, taking four quick wickets before completing a five-wicket haul (5-72) and also picking up his 50th Test wicket in only his 12th game as England were bowled out for 218 in just 57.4 overs.

Before the match, there was a lot of talk about the conditions being in favour of pace bowlers and that India may opt for a third pacer at the cost of Kuldeep. However, the Indian team management retained their spin trio and the Kanpur-born spinner proved to be virtually unplayable right from the first session when the pitch was supposed to be at its best for batting. In 15 straight overs on either side of the lunch break, Kuldeep hardly delivered a loose ball, putting the famed England batting line-up under pressure.

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Kuldeep's superlative performance at the HPCA Stadium has shown just how far he has progressed in his career after making his debut in the only Test played here in 2017. He began his journey with a four-wicket haul against Australia, laying the foundation for India's convincing eight-wicket win.

Fine comeback after knee injury

Much has been written about how Kuldeep after suffering a knee injury and being benched for long periods had to redefine himself by modifying his bowling action, adding more speed and variety to his armoury. All the hard work and toil have paid dividends and he has become an indispensable part of the Indian bowling attack, especially at home. There were times when he would be benched the following game despite a good performance in the previous one. His childhood coach Kapil Dev Pandey always rued the fact that his ward was not given enough opportunities, having played just 12 Tests in seven years since his debut. He always believed that if Kuldeep is given a long run, he'd be a much better bowler. And that has been proved in this series. Besides, the fact that he has played four Tests in a row for the first time in his career will also boost his confidence. Had India not lost the opening game of this series at Hyderabad, Kuldeep might not have replaced Axar Patel in the second game. That defeat required a rejig of the bowling attack and Kuldeep has made the most of the lucky break.

Comings back to his performance on Thursday, the delivery of the day had to be the one that cleaned up a well-set Zak Crawley Pitching outside the off stumps, the ball came in a long way to knock off the leg. Another dismissal that brought much joy to both Kuldeep and the Indian team was when he outfoxed Jonny Bairstow to edge one into wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel's gloves. Bairstow had just whacked Kuldeep for a six and a four before the googly foxed him. It was double celebration time as this was also Kuldeep's 50th Test scalp. In the following over, he trapped England skipper Ben Strokes leg-before with another beauty to complete his fifer.

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Skipper Rohit Sharma was all praise for his spinner. "Kuldeep, in the last two years, has been bowling differently. Even in white-ball cricket, since he has come back from his knee injury, he seems to be a different bowler. There's a bit of bite and drift in his bowling. He's putting so much effort into his bowling, into his rhythm and everything which is why you see so much improvement in these last two or three years. And he has shown that he can hold the bat too. He played a crucial knock in the Ranchi Test with Dhruv [Jurel]. Their partnership was a match-winning one in my eyes with Dhruv getting 90 and Kuldeep getting 30-odd, which got us very close to their first-innings target," said Rohit.

Maturity factor

Kuldeep attributed his success to maturity. "In these seven years, I have become a lot more mature about my bowling. I now understand my game a lot better. I know how to read the wicket too. Bowling is all about fitness. I've worked a lot on my fitness in the last 18 months and have been able to make certain changes in my bowling because of improved fitness. This has allowed me to bowl long spells, like in Rajkot and Ranchi, and I've gotten used to it," he said after the day's play.

17
No. of wickets claimed by Kuldeep Yadav in the ongoing Test series against England

Brief scores
England 218 all out (Z Crawley 79, J Bairstow 29; K Yadav 5-72, R Ashwin 4-51) v India 135-1 (Y Jaiswal 57, R Sharma 52')