Indian National Cricket Team’s star left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is banking on young batsman Sarfaraz Khan, who smashed a double century in the opening Test series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
The first test of the three-match series between the Rohit Sharma-led side and the Kiwis is being played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Sarfaraz Khan Played a Spectacular Knock on Day 3
Sarfaraz Khan was one of five Indians to score a duck in the first innings en route to an embarrassing 46. However, the youngster showed his true class in the second innings when the pitch settled down.
Sarfaraz frustrated the New Zealand bowlers with his unusual style of play and played aggressive cricket. He reached the half-century milestone off 42 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes.
Sarfaraz shared a terrific partnership of 136 with Virat Kohli and the duo propelled India. But Kohli was dismissed in the last ball of the day, which was a huge blow to the side. Sarfaraz Khan remained unbeaten in 70 off 78 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes.
I hope he hits a double hundred here – Sarfaraz Khanda Kuldeep Yadav
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav attended the post-day press conference where he expressed his hope to see Sarfaraz repeat his Irani Cup heroics and smash a double ton in the Bengaluru Test. He said (quoting RevSportz):
“We are enjoying his (Sarfaraz) batting a lot. You saw how he scored 200 in the Iran Cup. Hope he hits a double hundred here too… He doesn’t let the spinners settle. He counter-attacked the left-arm spinner (Ajaz Patel) and they had to bring in a fast bowler from one end.”
Kuldeep Yadav also spoke about the Kiwi sensation Racine Ravindraoutstanding century. He said that the young football player has developed a lot and he hopes that he will be defeated in the upcoming matches.
“He played very well, he chose the scoring areas wisely. I had a chance to take it out twice today. He has improved a lot in the last two years, especially against spin. Hopefully, he will not score so many goals in the remaining matches.”
Difficult to control runs here – Kuldeep Yadav
The left-arm wrist-spinner then revealed the difficulty of controlling runs on a Bengaluru pitch that has plenty to offer for strikes. He said:
“It’s hard to control the runs here. There wasn’t much of a turnout yesterday, maybe because the pitch was a bit wet. Even good deliveries can be appreciated without significant spin or rough spots, especially at this ground with short boundaries. Credit to New Zealand, they batted really well.”
Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee added a sensational 137 runs in their first innings to put India under huge pressure and talking about this partnership, Kuldeep Yadav said that Southee, who scored 65 runs, was very lucky during the innings. He said:
“My plan was simple – to get them out. Southee was lucky today; his batting was lucky but in the end he added important runs for his team.”
