Kuldeep Yadav starred with the ball to power India to a resounding victory over England in the fifth Test at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
England got off to a solid start in the first innings before Kuldeep Yadav brought India back into the game by taking two quick wickets in the first session. He then also devastated England’s middle order to leave the visitors reeling at 183 for 8 off 175 for 3.
England were eventually bowled out for just 218 runs. Even in the second innings, the left-arm spinner picked up two wickets as India bowled out the tourists for just 195 runs and won the game by an innings and 64 runs. The series ended 4-1 in favor of India. The hosts had lost the first match of the series before bouncing back in style and winning the last four Tests.
Kuldeep Yadav impresses with the bat:
While Kuldeep Yadav’s performance with the ball has not surprised many, his performance with the bat has definitely impressed many. Not really known for his batting exploits, the Uttar Pradesh star played some useful knocks for Team India throughout the series. In fact, one of his batting statistics will put England’s best batsmen such as captain Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow to shame.
After recording scores of 8*, 0 and 4, he had knocks of 27, 28 and 30. More than the runs, it is the number of balls he played in pressure situations that made a big impression. In the second innings of the third Test, he scored 27 runs off 91 balls and helped India recover after Rajat Patidar fell for a duck.
In the first innings of the fourth Test, India were reeling at 177 for 7 in response to England’s first innings total of 353. Kuldeep Yadav then shared a crucial 76-run stand with Dhruv Jurel (90) while scoring 28 runs off 131 balls. In the fifth Test, he scored 30 off 69 balls and helped the hosts score 477 after they were reduced to 428 for 8 from 427 for 5.
In total, Kuldeep Yadav played 362 balls in his 97 runs in the series. He faced more balls than Bairstow and only five fewer balls than Stokes faced. While Bairstow faced 290 births, Stokes faced 367 births.