Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav starred in Delhi Capitals 40-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match on Sunday, where he returned figures of 29 for 3. After the game, Kuldeep delved on many aspects of his bowling and how he approached the match where he was the Player of the Match.
“Obviously, I was very clear with my plan. I saw early on that the wicket was a bit slow, and I was just trying to vary the pace, mix it up with scrambled seam and try to deceive the batter. The wicket of Rinku was a perfect example because I tried to slow it down through the air, and he played it straight away, so it was a good ball to get him out,” he said.
Kuldeep dismissed KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane (63 off 39 balls), Cameron Green (2 off 3 balls) and Rinku Singh for a golden duck. He had set high expectations from himself but the season didn’t turn out to be going his way, and at that moment he decided to go back home and work on his bowling with his childhood coach.
“I’m happy, extremely happy with whatever has gone right through the season. To be very honest, I wasn’t happy before this match because the way we wanted as a team to have a great season, we couldn’t finish in the top four. Personally, I thought I didn’t have a great season, to be very honest, because I was expecting more from myself, but I couldn’t deliver this season. But after the last game, I went back home and worked with my coach on the things I needed to improve. I played one game there and realised it was just the small things you forget very quickly, especially in white-ball cricket. To go there, work on those things and come back here and bowl like that, it was lovely to see,” he said.
It really worked wonders for Kuldeep as he explained about the changes that he made to his bowling. “I thought I was bowling a bit more open-chested and sometimes not using my full body. What happens then is you just push the ball, and that’s where T20 batters become extremely strong to hit you down the ground and play off the back foot. Once you start using more of your body and try to spin the ball harder, ultimately you see the results. You get the dip and the drift, and obviously, you can vary the pace as well. It was lovely to see, and I think it was a lovely game for me, especially coming back from the last game,” explained Kuldeep.
Kuldeep was on a hat-trick, but missed out when wicketkeeper Abishek Porel dropped a chance behind the stumps.
“It happens in the game, and I’m very happy with the performance, to be very honest. Getting a hat-trick or not is just part of the game, but the way I bowled, I’m pleased now,” Kuldeep said.
Kuldeep said working on his basics really helped as he found a way to turn things around. “When I spoke to my coach, he was really straightforward with me and said, ‘Boss, you need to spin the ball. Try to deceive the batter.’ I understand that batters are going hard against you, but when you’re spinning the ball, you always have a chance to get them out. I also wasn’t using my full body in the last couple of games. I thought I bowled well in patches, but when you miss something in your run-up or rhythm, it ultimately affects your game.”
Delhi Capitals ended their IPL 2026 campaign on a high, finishing sixth on the points table with their seventh win of the season after defending a total of 204 against Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR finished just below them in seventh place with six wins.
