In India’s Asia Cup opener against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Wednesday, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav claimed that knowing the attitude of the opposition batters paid off handsomely.
After warming the bench for all five of England’s Test matches, Kuldeep finally saw action and appeared in better shape than ever.
“Thanks to Adrian (Le Roux) the trainer. Was working on my bowling and my fitness as well, everything is going perfectly. Tried to hit the right length and it matters a lot, reading the batters on what they are trying to do.
“Even today as well, reacting to what the batters would do on the next ball,” said Kuldeep, who returned with match-winning figures of 4/7 from 2.1 overs.
Kuldeep’s skill was too great for the uninformed UAE to understand, and India won by nine wickets with little effort.
India captain Suryaukmar Yadav praised the team’s clinical performance.
“Wanted to see how the wicket was playing. It was the same in the second innings. Clinical performance from the boys, we wanted good attitude and energy on the field and that’s what we got,” he said.
“Recently lot of the boys were here for the Champions Trophy, the wicket looked good but it was on the slower side and the spinners have a role. Here it is very hot right now and Kuldeep did well, got good support from Hardik, Dube and Bumrah.”
Young Abhishek Sharma was also praised by the captain for his exploits upfront.
“He (Abhishek) is currently the world number one batter for a reason, he sets the tone, irrespective of if we chase 200 or 50, unbelievable from him. Everyone is excited for the game against Pakistan,” Yadav said.
UAE captain Muhammad Waseem claimed that they lost the match because they lost wickets in a cluster.
“We started well as a batting team, we lose wickets in a cluster which cost us the game. They are a brilliant team and they are bowling very well. They are executing their plans for every batter, that’s why they are the No.1 team,” he said.
