As a wrist spinner, the sly Kuldeep Yadav had more purchase from the submissive Feroz Shah Kotla track than the rest, according to fellow tweaker Washington Sundar, as the Indian bowling unit took up to 118.5 overs to remove the West Indies in their second innings.
The spin trio claimed up to 13 of the 20 wickets, and Kuldeep finished the match with 8 for 186 in 55.5 overs over two innings. Veteran Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets in 52 overs, while Washington took one wicket in 36 overs during the match.
“I think he (Kuldeep) bowled really well. He hit those areas really well and being a wrist spinner, he probably got a bit of purchase here and there as well and that definitely helped,” Washington told reporters after the fourth day’s play in the second Test with India needing 58 more to win.
“But yes, I think all the bowlers bowled really well. Even the quicks bowled their hearts out. So, yes, as I said, it’s really heartening to have taken 20 wickets on this track,” Washington added.
The wicket, in his opinion, was identical to what Kotla has been delivering for years.
“This, I would say, is a typical Delhi wicket, where there is not much bounce and obviously, there wasn’t a lot of turn on offer also in this game. But yeah, different venues play out quite differently, and that’s the beauty about this format in particular. We play in a lot of different conditions — be it home or away and obviously, all those conditions and the opposition challenge our skill sets and that’s the beauty of this format. We keep going,” the lanky all-rounder said.
In this match, the Indian bowlers had bowled more than 200 overs, and Washington believes the England series has adequately prepared them.
“I mean, the England series definitely made us understand what it actually feels like to be on the field for five days because even in England, we fielded for about 180-200 overs every game. So, this definitely isn’t something very new to us.
“One thing for sure is that we have got to be really fit and on top of our game in that aspect and in Test cricket you honestly expect that. You expect most of the Test matches to go until the fifth day and challenge you in every way possible.”
On a lighter note, he stated that even Jaiswal hoped to complete the game on Monday, much like the reporters who were covering it.
“Yeah, I mean a lot of you all also would have liked if the game got over today but Jaiswal did his best. On another day, we would’ve definitely finished it on fourth day.”
Ravindra Jadeja pitched a delivery on line of stumps to get a leg before decision for John Campbell, the other centurion of the day, while Shai Hope played on to a Mohammed Siraj delivery on an imagined ‘fifth off-stump’ line. According to Washington, there were different plans for different batters.
“I mean, I would say we did quite a few different things depending on the batsmen. For some, we tried to bowl a little wider and hit the rough and for some others, we tried to be really straight as much as possible and bring the stumps into play.”
On the fourth evening, it was crucial to pinpoint the batter’s vulnerability and test their patience.
“It’s more to do with what kind of a batsman he is and eventually, try and bowl to his not-so-strengths. Make him play as many balls over there and eventually pick wickets over there I mean, I think we were really patient throughout.”
Washington considers himself fortunate to be a member of the multi-skilled cricket team that Gautam Gambhir has coached.
“I mean, it’s just been a blessing honestly. To be an all-rounder is really heartening because you are always in the game. You have a great opportunity to make an impact for the team with both skill-sets and eventually, win the game for the team.
“I mean, I have got to thank God for all the skills he’s blessed me with,” he said, stating that in the past, teams with a higher number of all-round players have consistently dominated the traditional format.
“Obviously, in Test cricket, it’s better to have as many all-rounders. I mean, if you go back and see, most of the teams who’ve dominated Test cricket for many years…
“I think they’ve had good quality all-rounders in their line-up and I’d say we’ve got some really quality all-rounders in our team as well.
“So yes, it’s just an opportunity to either do something special with the bat or the ball given whatever the team requires, whatever the situation requires and eventually, win the game for the country.”
