Moments after a record 453 runs were scored on the third day of the opening Test between India and New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here, left-arm leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav rued the lack of turn at the venue.
Kuldeep also showed his disappointment at the dimension of the ground that also assisted in easy run-scoring opportunities from either side.
“It was difficult to control runs on this wicket. Even the good deliveries were being hit. There wasn’t much turn off the pitch. Maybe because it was damp yesterday, today it had become hard. This ground also has a history. It is a small ground, and runs are easily scored here,” he told reporters on Friday.
In the lead-up to the series, New Zealand’s vulnerabilities against quality spin bowling became a talking point, but on Friday, the Kiwis, especially Rachin Ravindra displayed the right temperament to score against the tweakers. Ravindra, who shared a 137-run stand with Tim Southee for the eighth wicket, blasted the Indian spinners, more specially Ravichandran Ashwin.
Heaping praises on Ravindra’s technique, Kuldeep said that the youngster had improved a lot in the past couple of years.
“He [Ravindra] batted very well. I missed his wicket twice. He is a good player. He has improved in the last two years as a player. He batted with good technique. He was comfortable against the spinners. I hope he doesn’t play like this in the upcoming matches,” Kuldeep quipped.
“Tim Southee was lucky many times,” he added.
Kuldeep also appreciated the efforts of young Sarfaraz Khan, who joined forces with Virat Kohli to add 136 runs for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed off the final delivery of the day.
“We enjoy his [Sarfaraz] batting a lot. You saw how he scored a 200 in the Irani Cup. I hope he scores a double-hundred here too… He doesn’t allow the spinners to settle down. He counter-attacked the left-arm spinner [Ajaz Patel], and they had to bring in a fast bowler from one end,” he said.