India vs Windies 2018: 1st T20I - Knowing The Condition is a Massive Advantage - Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav, the young spinner for India, revealed that knowing the conditions helps a lot following his stellar show in the opening T20I fixture against Windies at Kolkata.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav returned with three for 13 in his four overs to restrict Windies for 109 runs. He ran through the visitor’s middle-order, who struggled to offer any resistance with the bat. Kuldeep Yadav has a lot of experience playing in this ground for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and yesterday; it came to the fore.

“Definitely, it (knowing the conditions) plays a part,” Yadav said after the match. “It’s been five years with KKR. I have played all the IPL games here. It gives you a massive advantage when you play a lot of matches like I have played at Eden Gardens. I know the ground, I know the conditions, I know the wicket as well, so everything is in my favour,” he added.

If Kuldeep Yadav stole the show with the ball, Dinesh Karthik steered India home with a patient knock. He remained unbeaten on 31 runs from 34 deliveries to take India 1-0 up.

“He (Karthik) batted really well,” Yadav said of his Knight Riders captain. “Because the conditions were in his favour. He led KKR in the last IPL season so was well aware of the conditions.

“It was also difficult because there were wickets falling at the other end and you had to rein yourself in. It was a very important innings for us. Credit goes to him,” Kuldeep Yadav added.

It wasn’t a particularly big total from the Windies, who managed 109/8 from 20 overs. Indian innings stuttered a bit, with the top three failing to get big scores. Yadav attributed the initial challenges to the conditions.

“Sometimes, small totals like 110 become difficult to chase. At Eden Gardens, the ball swings later in the second innings,” he said. “They bowled well, they bowled in perfect areas that made it really tough for us,” Kuldeep concluded.