IPL 2022: Quicker and better Kuldeep Yadav sets up win for Delhi Capitals over Mumbai Indians – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

It is three days after India’s first Test debacle in Adelaide 2020. Kuldeep Yadav is in the Melbourne Cricket ground nets bowling non-stop for more than an hour. India’s bowling coach at the time, Bharat Arun, keeps asserting a simple message” “crease pe aur thoda sa energy chahiye” (need more energy at the crease).

Even if it is with the red ball, it is clear to Kuldeep that he needs to bowl with a flatter trajectory, but at the same time not lose his natural loop. It is a difficult proposition. It was always going to take time. In between came COVID-19 and a serious knee injury, but finally, after over a year of toiling, the cricketing world would see the Kuldeep Yadav version 2.0 at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Kuldeep ended with figures from 3-18 from his four overs to choke the Mumbai batting in the middle phase of the innings. Two of his wickets were Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard, two of Mumbai’s most experienced batters in the game. But it is the manner in which Kuldeep dismissed them that showcased the hard work he had instilled in his bowling in the last 18 months.

Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets as Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians. Image: Sportzpics

One of the issues cited by experts over Kuldeep’s bowling was his lack of pace through the air. In T20 cricket and on flatter surfaces, whenever Kuldeep looped the ball above the line, the batters found it easy to drive or loft him. To overcome the issue, Kuldeep would alter his length and bowl a tad shorter, but due to his lack of pace, batters would then sit back and play him comfortably off the back foot.

Kuldeep had to find a solution or his value in the game would start to decrease rapidly. Even team analysts felt that the spinner was too slow through the air and posed little threat in modern T20 cricket. The game had moved on and Kuldeep had to catch up. He was dropped from the national setup and most of the franchises were not keen on picking him during the IPL auction. Overall, he had only played in two games in the past nine months. He had only taken one wicket in the 2020 IPL from four matches.

He needed to get back to the drawing board.

The lack of game time and injury meant Kuldeep was short of rhythm. After five months at the National Cricket Academy, Kuldeep had strength back in his lower body that allowed him to generate more force while at the crease. The process was long and tedious. Technical adjustments had to be inbuilt in his muscle memory and for that, he had to bowl a lot of overs in the nets.

On Sunday, all the missing parts came together as he rushed Pollard and Rohit into playing cross-batted pull shots. The speed of the ball wasn’t considerably quicker, but the trajectory was a lot flatter. Importantly, the loop was still evident when he pitched a yard fuller. Both Rohit and Pollard saw Kuldeep’s length and felt they could muscle the ball over the top. But the ball rushed onto them a touch, cramping them for room and not having a full swing of the bat. This was exactly what Kuldeep had been aiming to do for the last couple of years.

In between, the googlies and the leg spinners still had the dip. The wicket of Anmolpreet Singh was a perfect example of the original Kuldeep. The dismissals of Rohit and Pollard were a product of the new version of Kuldeep. He has learned to piece together the best of both versions.

During the innings break, Kuldeep repeated the importance of ‘length’ while speaking to the broadcasters. Not only had he spoken to Delhi coach Ricky Ponting, but during the off-season, he had been in touch with India’s skipper Rohit Sharma about what length is right in white-ball cricket.

“The variation in pace was because I was in good rhythm. My lengths were good. I was varying my lengths as I knew batters can step out and play it easily here.” Kuldeep said during the innings break.

On Sunday, Kuldeep’s length was immaculate. Importantly, he also stated it was the confidence that Ponting gave him that helped him in executing his skills.

“Here in the Delhi setup I spoke to Ricky and he backed me. I was lacking rhythm from a long time and I worked on my rhythm a lot and never compromised on turning the ball despite the variation in pace,” Kuldeep said.

It has only been one game, but the way Kuldeep bowled and exposed two of the best all-time T20 batters on a flat pitch is a sign that Kuldeep Yadav 2.0 is going to be mighty effective.

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