Mumbai: Spinner Kuldeep Yadav was again the star of the evening as his 4 for 14 helped Delhi Capitals restrict Kolkata Knight Riders to 146/9 in 20 overs. His wickets included the likes of Shreyas Iyer, debutant Indrajith, Narine, and Andre Russell.
The left-arm Chinaman bowler who was dropped from India’s limited-overs side, believes the period when he was struggling to get wickets that’s what has made him mentally strong.
“When you fail in life, you get to know where you went wrong. When you manage to figure that out, it makes you mentally strong and you are no longer afraid of failure,” said Kuldeep at the post match presentation.
The 27 year old Delhi Capitals spinner also reckoned that this was his best stint in the IPL.
“Definitely my best IPL since I’m enjoying my bowling and am very clear with my bowling. I am able to guess what the batters will do. I’ve been backing my skills. The odd delivery does go wrong but that’s how T20 is as a format. When you get a couple of wickets early it makes you confident,” said the 27 year old who was adjued the Player of the Match.
Together, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are fondly called ‘KulCha’ in the Indian cricket circle. Friends off the field, Yadav and Chahal are in a tight fight for the Purple Cap, currently being held by Chahal, who has 18 wickets from eight matches. Chahal is top of the charts, while Kuldeep is only one wicket behind him. Yadav said there is no competition or rivalry with Chahal.
.@imkuldeep18 scalped 4⃣ wickets and bagged the Player of the Match award as Delhi Capitals beat #KKR. 👏 👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/jZMJFLuj4h #TATAIPL | #DCvKKR pic.twitter.com/Qeqy4ggRW0
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2022
“My focus has been to bowl the right line and lengths. There has never been competition with him (Chahal). He has encouraged me a lot. He has been like a big brother and stood by me during my bad times. In my heart, I want him to go and win the Purple Cap because he has been bowling exceptionally over the past four years,” added Yadav.
Chasing the target of 147 runs set by KKR, the Rishabh Pant-led side suffered an early wicket after David Warner’s dismissal, but then Axar Patel (24 off 17 balls) and Powell (33 not out off 16 balls) led the charge to help DC chased down the target in 19 overs with six balls to spare to hand KKR a four wicket loss.
