India wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav couldn’t hide his excitement after watching Virat Kohli’s masterclass in Ranchi and his reaction showed how special his innings truly was during the team’s thrilling 17-run win over South Africa in the first ODI on November 30.
Virat Kohli set Ranchi on fire by playing a brilliant inning of 135 runs in 120 balls in the first ODI against South Africa. This was the kind of innings that fans had been waiting to see, an innings full of power, control and the old spark that once terrified bowlers around the world.
Virat Kohli’s classic century and Kuldeep Yadav’s magic lead India to a thrilling win in the first ODI against South Africa
After Yashasvi Jaiswal was out cheaply, Kohli came in to bat at No. 3 and showed clear intent from the very first ball. The flamboyant right-handed batsman tore apart South Africa’s bowling attack and even without thinking in the power play, he destroyed Nandre Berger and Marco Johnson.
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The former Indian captain’s brilliant innings of 11 fours and seven sky-high sixes and his 136-run partnership with Rohit Sharma (57) gave India a great start. Later, a brilliant half-century from KL Rahul and a knock of 32 from Ravindra Jadeja pushed India to 349/8 on the board.
Defending the target, the South African team took the game till the last over and put the hosts under immense pressure, but once again Kuldeep Yadav turned the game in favor of the hosts with his spin. The wrist spinner took four wickets to lead the Men in Blue to a thrilling win.
Kuldeep Yadav feels old Virat Kohli is back after Ranchi masterclass
Speaking about Kohli’s innings after India took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match ODI series against South Africa, Kuldeep admitted that he misses the Kohli era between 2016 and 2019, when he ruled world cricket with unmatched hunger and accuracy.
The way Kohli timed the ball, chose his shots and positioned himself at the crease reminded Kuldeep of the unstoppable version of the former Indian captain from almost a decade ago.
“My career started with Virat bhai when he was the captain. The way he batted, I felt like I had gone back 8-9 years. The way he was batting in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2016. It was a very good innings, and he looked very confident. And whatever his shot selection was, the ball was coming off the bat well,” Kuldeep Yadav said in a BCCI video. It was amazing to see.”
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Kuldeep Yadav calls Virat Kohli the driving force behind India’s intensity
Meanwhile, Kuldeep also spoke about how it feels to share the field and dressing room with a player of Kohli’s stature. He said that the Indian cricket team feels fortunate to have such a strong senior presence.
The Indian spinner further said that every match with Kohli is a learning experience and the energy he brings excites the entire team.
Kuldeep said, “It feels good to be with them. You get to learn a lot from them; you always get inputs. Even in bowling, you get inputs about what you can do. So, it feels really good to be with the seniors. There is energy and intensity in the team. As you have seen on the field. We are very fortunate to have that.”