Former Indian batter and presenter Cheteshwar Pujara has expressed his views over the Indian wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav bowling wide of off-stump instead of sticking to the stumps on the third day of the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka.
Speaking to Cricinfo, Pujara asserted that Kuldeep did not live up to expectations against left-handed batters as the wrist-spinner could pick only one wicket in 14 overs while other spinners scalped seven wickets combined.
“Kuldeep was bowling well. I was a little surprised by Kuldeep and Shubman’s strategy of going wide of off stump. They could have stuck to the stump line. You have to keep the stumps in play. Kuldeep can flight the ball. When you go outside the off stump, the only way you can pick up a wicket is by getting a top edge. He should have bowled slightly better against left-handers,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on Cricinfo.
Additionally, Pujara has highlighted one key observation as the Indian spinners failed to create an impact against Niroshan Dickwella and Sonal Dinusha as the duo forged a 146-run stand for the sixth wicket.
“When both the left-handers were dominating, all our spinners struggled to bowl against them. The batters were sweeping and reverse-sweeping. That was a phase I think our spinners could have been slightly better. Once the ball got softer, our spinners were finding it challenging to spin the ball and to generate that pace and nip off the pitch,” he added.
In the first innings, India were all out for 462, thanks to a 167-run knock from Devdutt Padikkal. At the end of Day 3, India took an impressive 178-run lead after the spin duo’s heroics. Sri Lanka were all out for 284.
