For India, it was Kuldeep Yadav who packed a punch with the ball, strong enough to dislodge the West Indies in their most-favoured format as he applied a stranglehold on their batting, never really letting them free their arms.
The chinaman bowler has credited his match-defining spell of 3/13 to his familiarity with the Eden track, having played for the Kolkata Knight Riders for five years in the Indian Premier League.
“It plays a part. It’s been five years with KKR. I have played all the IPL games there. It gives you a massive advantage. It gives confidence as well. I know ground and wicket as well,” Kuldeep said while interacting with the media after the match.
Duly named Man of the match for his effort where he dismissed Darren Bravo, Rovman Powell and Carlos Brathwaite, the 23-year old formed a lethal spin-bowling partnership with debutant Krunal Pandya as the duo choked the flow of runs in the middle-overs.
“I know the ground well, the pitch here does not offer much turn. I know the speed of the outfield and every angle. So it helps a lot and gives me immense confidence,” he added.
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When quizzed about the faster delivery that he is seen bowling nowadays, the Uttar Pradesh cricketer said, “This delivery is faster one. I am working on it. In T20 format, to break the rhythm of the batsman. These kind of deliveries to control run and check what he will do.”
On the flip side, the West Indies who were already without Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis and Sunil Narine lost Andre Russell for the series due to injury and all-rounder Fabian Allen acknowledged that his side sorely missed the services of the Jamaican hard-hitter.
Russell didn’t travel to India with the team and it was confirmed ahead of the first match that he was ruled out of the series with an injury.
Andre Russell is a crucial player in the West Indies team. He is a hard hitter. Those guys are important like Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. Also, we young players try to contribute as much as we can,” he said.
Allen was the highest scorer for his side with a 27 runs off 20 balls said that his team would aim for a fightback in the next match in Lucknow on November 6.
“It’s one of those days. We will look to come back in the next game,” he added.
Image credit- Zee News