Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 (IANS) Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav on Sunday admitted he felt awkward accepting the Player of the Match award ahead of Virat Kohli, even though his four-wicket haul had pulled India back into the first ODI against the West Indies here, as they eventually won by eight wickets.
The wrist-spinner returned figures of 4-40 in his allocated ten overs and played a pivotal role in derailing the West Indies run-making in the middle overs. Kuldeep broke a 135-run opening stand by dismissing John Campbelll and then removed skipper Shai Hope, centurion Justin Greaves and Jewel Andrew to peg West Indies back.
Kohli then smashed an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls, including crossing the 15,000 runs mark and skipper Shubman Gill made 110, with Kuldeep said their batting was what he enjoyed most about the day.
“I actually loved the batting from Shubman and Virat bhai, it was a special inning from them. It feels awkward to receive the Man of the Match award seeing the way Virat batted, it was an outstanding inning,” Kuldeep said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Talking about his own spell, the left-arm wrist-spinner said everything had clicked in his favour. “I think personally I like my rhythm, to be very honest. I was very calm in my rhythm and just trying to bowl whatever I felt like bowling, just varying the pace, variations were superb, just reading the batters, where they’re going to hit me, and yeah, I bowled very, very, very good in rhythm.”
Kuldeep has been in and out of the Indian side, and didn’t play the ODI series in England in July. He added that a spell like this goes a long way in restoring belief in his abilities. “It always feels nice when you enjoy your bowling and that’s where you achieve your best.
“When you are enjoying your bowling, when you are a bit relaxed as well, and then your performance comes at peak. So, sometimes it feels to get that confidence back, you have to have a bowling spell like this, definitely, you grow your confidence.”
He signed off by saying there was still room for improvement. “I still believe there’s a lot to improve as a spinner and I believe the rhythm, it’s all about your flow, bowling flow, and when you are comfortable and when you are in good flow, then everything looks so good.
“I personally feel there’s still a chance to improve, and I’m going to stick with the same rhythm, that’s the most important thing. Even if I play any format, it’s just about you feeling comfortable in your rhythm and in your flow.”
–IANS
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