Kuldeep Yadav pulls a Shane Warne out of his floppy hat in Chennai

Kuldeep Yadav. (Photo Source: Disney+Hotstar)

Left-arm wrist spin is an art. Left-arm wrist spinners bowling with a bit of bite on the surface? It is one of those things in cricket that makes the fans stop doing what they are and have a piece of it.

Imagine a left-arm wrist spinner trapping a batter with a googly from over the wicket. The drift on the ball, the degree of turn, and the angle of flight. Special? Most of the cricketing world would agree.

The same was on display at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday as India and Australia crossed swords in the series decider. 

Scorching heat, dry surfaces and cracks. Australia’s nightmares?

Well, MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai proved the theory right; Australia were flummoxed again by slow bowling as Kuldeep Yadav spun a web around the sluggish Australian force and bagged an impressive three-wicket haul.

Spin tolerance and mental fortitude have been a feature of Kuldeep’s spells throughout his career, and he yet again left the world spellbound in the 39th over with arguably the ball of the game when he left Alex Carey stunned.

Kuldeep was bowling over the wicket, landing it around the middle and off, turning it away. He then went a little wider and landed in a few googlies.

It was 38.1, Kuldeep Yadav to Alex Carey. Yadav tossed it up, an usual leg break, on a good length, and to everyone’s surprise, the ball pitched outside leg and hit the top of off, which even had Kuldeep stunned for a bit.

As the man himself once said, “Part of the art of bowling spin is to make the batsman think something special is happening when it isn’t.”

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