Being wrist spinner, Kuldeep got a bit more purchase: Washington
As many as 13 out of the 20 wickets were picked up by the spin troika and Kuldeep has a match haul of 8 for 186 in 55.5 overs across two innings
NEW DELHI: The wily Kuldeep Yadav got more purchase from the docile Feroz Shah Kotla track compared to others as he is a wrist spinner, fellow tweaker Washington Sundar said after the Indian bowling unit needed as many as 118.5 overs to dismiss West Indies in its second innings.
As many as 13 out of the 20 wickets were picked up by the spin troika and Kuldeep has a match haul of 8 for 186 in 55.5 overs across two innings. Washington got a wicket bowling 36 overs in the game while veteran Ravindra Jadeja claimed four wickets in a total of 52 overs.
“I think he (Kuldeep) bowled really well. He hit those areas really well and being a wrist spinner, he probably got a bit of purchase here and there as well and that definitely helped,” Washington told reporters after the fourth day’s play in the second Test with India needing 58 more to win.
“But yes, I think all the bowlers bowled really well. Even the quicks bowled their hearts out. So, yes, as I said, it’s really heartening to have taken 20 wickets on this track,” Washington added.
He felt that the wicket was no different to what Kotla has been producing over the years.
“This, I would say, is a typical Delhi wicket, where there is not much bounce and obviously, there wasn’t a lot of turn on offer also in this game. But yeah, different venues play out quite differently, and that’s the beauty about this format in particular.”
“We play in a lot of different conditions -- be it home or away and obviously, all those conditions and the opposition challenge our skill sets and that’s the beauty of this format. We keep going,” the lanky all-rounder said.
The Indian bowlers have sent down more than 200 overs in this game and Washington feels that England series had prepared them well.
“I mean, the England series definitely made us understand what it actually feels like to be on the field for five days because even in England, we fielded for about 180-200 overs every game. So, this definitely isn’t something very new to us.
“One thing for sure is that we have got to be really fit and on top of our game in that aspect and in Test cricket you honestly expect that. You expect most of the Test matches to go until the fifth day and challenge you in every way possible.”
On a lighter note, he said that ideally, like the scribes covering the game, even Jaiswal wanted to finish it off on Monday.