Loop. Drift. Dip. Turn. And Bowled. During the 1st IND vs WI Test, Kuldeep Yadav produced a peach of a delivery in just the second over of his comeback to the Indian Test side to remove West Indies’ middle-order rock, Shai Hope.
The India vs West Indies Test series commences on Thursday, October 2, in Ahmedabad. Kuldeep, who was benched for the entire five-Test series in England and had missed last year’s tour of Australia due to an injury, was picked in the XI ahead of Axar Patel, marking this his first appearance in Test cricket after almost a year.
While the surface in Ahmedabad was uncharacteristically greenish, with Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah sharing the first four West Indies scalps, Kuldeep weaved his magic straightaway. The fact he got so much turn and assistance from a pace-friendly surface reinforced the belief that he would have been effective on the dry, flatter surfaces in England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy earlier this year.
Chase had been batting well against the pacers, hitting three boundaries as he reached 26 runs at a healthy strike rate of around 70.
However, his attempt to crash Kuldeep through the off-side region proved fatal. Kuldeep, in his second over, sent down a loopy, big leg-break that pitched well outside the off-stump, inviting Hope for an expansive drive away from his body, to which the right-hander obliged.
Hope was clearly beaten by the drift and dip on Kuldeep’s delivery, which turned in sharply, beating Hope’s inside edge and thudding into the off-stump. The batsman was left dumbfounded as he looked on at the stumps and the bowler with an expression of shock, while Kuldeep wheeled away, celebrating his first Test wicket after a year.
IND vs WI: [Watch] Kuldeep Yadav Bowls Shai Hope With A Beautiful Delivery
Meanwhile, all-rounder Justin Greaves is holding his end well against the Indian bowlers, with support from Khary Pierre. At the time of writing, the visitors are in a fragile spot at 139/6. Siraj has taken three wickets; Bumrah and Kuldeep, one each.
IND vs WI Playing XIs:
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
West Indies: John Campbell, Shai Hope (wk), Khary Pierre, Alick Athanaze, Roston Chase (C), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Jayden Seales
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