‘Other than Shai Hope, other guys couldn’t pick him’ – Wasim Jaffer’s assessment of West Indies batters against Kuldeep Yadav after first ODI
Kuldeep Yadav picked 4 wickets against West Indies in the first ODI.
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Jul 28, 2023 7:34 pm
Wasim Jaffer and Kuldeep Yadav (Source: Twitter)
The defeat of West Indies against India in the first ODI in Bridgetown was due to the incredible collapse of the batters in the middle overs. From 88/3 at one stage, the home side lost their last 7 wickets for just 26 runs. A target of 115 was never going to be challenging. Though the Indian batters struggled, the visiting side eventually won the match by 5 wickets.
One of the main reasons for the collapse of the West Indian batters was the spin bowling of Kuldeep Yadav. The chinaman bowler looked unplayable in the middle. With his googlies and the stock delivery of leg spin, the 28-year-old spun the ball like a dream and trapped the batters for fun. The batters had no clue what was coming at them.
Advantage of playing with leg spinners
Speaking about Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling, the former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer praised the youngster and said that the batters could not pick the spinner. “That’s what wrist spinners can do (run through the tail). If you can’t pick him, then you can’t play him. Sometimes, to a finger spinner, you know what’s coming out. But, with wrist spinners, the ball can go both ways. That’s what happened,” Jaffer said.
“Other than Shai Hope, the other guys couldn’t pick him – couldn’t pick the line, couldn’t pick the spin. Wrist-spinners can break partnerships and run through the tail and that’s what Kuldeep is good at. When he gets going, he can run through a side, can get you that double or triple strike in quick time. That’s exactly what he did today,” the former Indian opener added.
Kuldeep Yadav bowled a sensational spell in the middle overs. On a track that was pacy and had some extra bounce, Kuldeep got the ball to turn. The batters of West Indies allowed Kuldeep to settle for his lengths and did not attack the spinner. As a result, the bowler from Kanpur bowled 3 overs and claimed 4 wickets including a couple of maiden overs. He was also awarded the Player of the Match.
