The spotlight was on the Indian spinners as they managed to clean up the England batting unit in the first innings of the fifth Test at Dharamsala on Thursday. Kuldeep Yadav led the charge as he picked up a fifer to put the home side in front.
After bundling out England for just 218 runs, Kuldeep and Ravichandran Ashwin shared a moment where the two were seen giving each other the ball for their brilliant displays. Ashwin who is playing his 100th Test, picked up a four-wicket haul but insisted that his fellow spinner take the ball in memory of a great display of spin-bowling.
Speaking at the press conference following the day’s play, Kuldeep was all praise for the veteran spinner. He said,” He (Ashwin) is very kind and humble. Playing the 100th test for India is unbelievable. Lovely to have him around. I thought he deserved that (match ball to lead the side off the field). He said the same thing. “
However, the left-arm spinner revealed that Ashwin made a cheeky comment when giving him the match ball. Ashwin had said,” I have 35, you keep this one.” The 37-year-old has picked up 35 fifers in his Test career and has over 500 wickets in the longest format as well. He has been a big part of whatever success India has had recently and has been a go-to bowler for India, especially at home.
Kuldeep on the other hand has now showcased his ability with the red-ball and now is likely to be considered as the third spinner option for the Indian team. So far in this series he has picked up 17 wickets in the four games he has played.
India remains in front for the final Test. After a good display of bowling, it was followed up with a similar performance with the bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal went on to bring up his fifty and cross 700 runs in the series after which he was dismissed by Shoaib Bashir. The captain, Rohit Sharma also followed suit and remains unbeaten on 52 with Shubman Gill also looking in good touch as the hosts will look to make the most of a fantastic batting track.
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