Kuldeep Yadav had the Sri Lanka batters dancing to his tunes at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, picking 3-51 in his 10 overs and set the base for a four-wicket victory to take India towards an unassailable 2-0 series victory. Kuldeep played the match in Kolkata after leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal missed due to a sore right shoulder. He made full use of the opportunity by spinning a web around the Sri Lanka batters in the middle overs and trapping them with ease through his speed, variations and control.
After the win Kuldeep's performance was analysed by experts and one of them was former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who put out a tweet claiming that he had decoded the reason that made Kuldeep more effective than before. The left-arm pacer shared two images of Kuldeep Yadav and tweeted: "Kuldeep Yadav has changed his run up angle that has changed his alignment & that is helping him to bowl quicker. Fantastic work by him."
Replying to Pathan’s tweet, former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan questioned his understanding of the art of spin-bowling. “I don’t know what was discussed on the commentary. Bowling fast does not help a spinner. You HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, BALANCE YOUR BODY will allow Kuldeep to spin more through the air, hence being more effective. MORE SPIN MORE BITE OF THE PITCH, that’s why they are called Spinners,” Sivaramakrishnan tweeted. In a subsequent tweet Sivaramakrishnan wrote: “If they bowl quick it will skid off the pitch and not be effective. Bowling slower through the air, spinning more and a good finish is required. Bowl with the body and not your hand alone.”
