Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav didn’t have many wickets to show for at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Wednesday compared to their impact in India’s Cup opener against Australia in Chennai.
But on a track far more batsmen-friendly than the one at the Chepauk, the left-arm spin duo certainly did a good job in terms of discipline which helped them to maintain an impressive economy rate against Afghanistan, feels former leg-spinner Samuel Badree, a member of the West Indies’ 2016 T20 World Cup-winning squad.
“This pitch didn’t offer much assistance for the spinners. The Afghan batters
did play them well, I felt, given that the duo were their main threat with the ball. So,
they didn’t want to give wickets away to Kuldeep and Jadeja which, I think, was smart batting.
“But I still think Jadeja and Kuldeep bowled well even though they weren’t getting too much turn. They kept the pressure by bowling those straight lines and keeping the stumps into play as much as possible,” Badree, who took 56 wickets in 52 T20Is for the Windies and is one of the commentators in this World Cup, told The Telegraph.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep took 1/40 off his 10-over quota in spite of getting a
bit of a stick from Azmatullah Omarzai. Jadeja, though wicketless, conceded 38 off his eight overs.
India’s decision to bring in seamer Shardul Thakur in place of senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was also a correct one, Badree felt.
“The Indian think-tank did a good job, understanding that this pitch will not offer as much for the spinners as the one in Chennai did.
“As we go through this World Cup and you look at the different conditions in different venues, it’s important to be flexible and play combinations based on the conditions you are confronting.
“So, making that change was a good one and that’s something we are going to see throughout the course of the tournament as we go from venue to venue,” Badree added.
