NEW DELHI: Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav reflected on his performance in the marquee World Cup clash against Pakistan, where he created confusion in the minds of Pakistani batsmen, leading them to play high-risk sweep shots despite struggling to read his deliveries.
Kuldeep took the crucial wickets of Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed, both of whom attempted the sweep shot against the left-arm wrist spinner, leading to Pakistan's batting collapse. He admitted that his deliveries were difficult for the batsmen to read, and they were uncertain whether to sweep or play conventionally.
Kuldeep mentioned an interesting aspect of his dismissal of Iftikhar Ahmed, saying, "No, I didn't plan that I would try to bowl Iftikhar around the legs, but since I bowl the wrong 'un (googly), I tried that, but it was a wide ball and also a bit on the shorter side, which made it difficult for him to sweep."
1/10:India hand Pakistan seven-wicket World Cup rout
2/10:Skipper Rohit stars for India
<p>Skipper Rohit Sharma's 86 and an inspired bowling display helped India hammer Pakistan by seven wickets in their high-profile World Cup clash in Ahmedabad.</p>AFP
3/10:Pakistan bowl out for 191
<p>India bowled out Pakistan for 191 after their rivals collapsed from 155/2.</p>ANI
4/10:Winning streak continues!
<p>They overhauled the total with 117 balls to spare to extend their unbeaten streak against their neighbours to eight in the 50-over showpiece tournament.</p>AFP
5/10:India on top
<p>Rohit stood out in his 63-ball knock laced with six fours and six sixes to keep India unbeaten in their three matches in this edition.</p>ANI
6/10:Pakistan's first defeat
<p>Pakistan now have two wins and one defeat in the 10-nation tournament.</p>AFP
7/10:Bumrah's inspirational spell
<p>"It felt good," said man of the match, Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah who had figures of 2-19 off nine overs.</p>PTI
8/10:The 'Hitman-show' in Ahmedabad
<p>Rohit hit the ball to all parts of the ground with his delightful flicks and pulls to entertain an almost all-Indian crowd at the world's biggest cricket stadium.</p>AFP
9/10:Gill and Kohli fell early
<p>India lost Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli before Rohit and Shreyas Iyer, who hit the winning four to reach 53, put on 77 runs and placed India comfortably on course for victory.</p>
10/10:Rohit misses hundred
<p>Rohit fell attempting another hit off Shaheen Shah Afridi to get caught at mid-wicket, but Iyer and KL Rahul took the team home with ease. </p>PTIHe described the wicket as "lucky" and acknowledged that this kind of delivery puts pressure on batsmen. Kuldeep mentioned that he wanted to dismiss Iftikhar in a better manner.
He also talked about how he got to bowl that crucial over, saying, "I thought they would try to sweep as they are known to play that shot. But they didn't take a chance, but that extra over that I bowled after discussing with skipper, both wickets came in that over."
Kuldeep explained the importance of Mohammed Siraj's breakthrough in getting Babar Azam out and how it helped the team. He believed that 270 would have been a challenging target to chase on the Motera track.
The spinner discussed the nature of the pitch, stating that there wasn't much help for pacers or spinners and that it was essential to restrict the batsmen from getting room to hit and squeeze the run flow.
When asked about the delivery he bowled to dismiss Babar Azam in the 2019 World Cup, Kuldeep downplayed it, saying it was a good ball that got hyped because of the World Cup. He mentioned that he has dismissed players with similar deliveries in bilateral matches and emphasized the importance of bowling in one area to force batsmen to make mistakes.
Regarding his preference for bowling in the first or second session, Kuldeep playfully remarked, "My bowling under lights has always been good. I always want to bowl second, but what to do, as Rohit bhai doesn't listen to me."
He concluded by expressing his happiness at maintaining an unbeaten record against Pakistan in matches he has played and discussed the excitement of playing in such a high-pressure atmosphere. "To be honest, I played 3-4 games against them and lucky to win all of them. For me, you saw the crowd, atmosphere you want to do well. In 2019, best moment was playing against Pakistan."
(With PTI inputs)
