Veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav revealed India's bold bowling plans during the first ODI against South Africa as the KL Rahul-led side registered a 17-run win in the first ODI at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi.
Kuldeep Yadav on India's bowling plan
Kuldeep who was India's pick of the bowlers in the first ODI with four scalps, revealed that he had a chat with KL Rahul and the side wanted to have an attacking approach in bowling despite the batting-friendly conditions.
"When I came after the first spell, I had a chat with KL. We wanted to attack despite it being tough to bowl as wickets were important. I was mixing up the scrambled seam and seam up. Just tried to go back of length. It was easy to connect off a full length" said Kuldeep Yadav after India's win in 1st ODI.
Kuldeep Yadav on bowling conditions in Ranchi
Kuldeep, who conceded 68 runs in his 10-over spell, admitted that bowling was challenging on the Ranchi track because the ball was getting really wet, so to counter that, the hosts kept putting dust and asked the umpire for a replacement.
"It is very challenging, the ball was getting really wet. We kept putting dust and asked the ump for a replacement, that was the plan. We saw a couple of great innings from Bosch and Jansen, wanted to get a wicket. I bowled few balls slower through the air, but you can't just rely on stock balls. You have to mix things up and keep batters guessing. Do that and bowl wicket to wicket. That was my plan. (Jansen's wicket) He was hitting everywhere. Good balls were travelling too. You get lucky and his wicket changed the game" added Kuldeep Yadav.
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India vs South Africa 1st ODI
Virat Kohli's 52nd ODI century, followed by Kuldeep Yadav's left-arm wrist spin trickery and Harshit Rana’s pace helped India to register a 17-run win over South Africa in the first ODI. India now lead the rubber 1-0, and the second match will be played at Raipur.
Once Kohli’s 120-ball 135 (11x4, 7x6) guided India to a massive 349 for 8, South Africa failed to produce the Herculean batting effort needed for a tall chase, folding for 332.
Kuldeep (4/68) and Harshit (3/65) struck at vital junctures as India quelled the hints of Protean fightback.
Brief scores: India: 349/8 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 135, Rohit Sharma 57, KL Rahul 60; Ottneil Baartman 2/60, Nandre Burger 2/65) beat South Africa: 332 all out in 49.2 overs (Matthew Breeetzke 72, Marco Jansen 70; Kuldeep Yadav 4/68, Harshit Rana 3/65) by 17 runs.