Kuldeep Yadav reiterates his sorcery in Dharamsala deja vu

Kuldeep Yadav tried his best to convince Ravichandran Ashwin to lead the team off the field after England's first innings in Dharamsala. After all, it was a special occasion for Ashwin, who was playing his 100th Test and picked up four wickets.

However, the veteran off-spinner had to push Kuldeep forward with the match ball to lead the Indian team back to the dressing room. Such was the level of performance from the left-arm wrist-spinner, who picked up a fantastic five-wicket haul on a good Day 1 batting pitch.

Dharamsala was always special to Kuldeep Yadav, who made his return to the venue, where he had fulfilled his dream of playing for the country, in style. It was at this stadium, where seven years ago, a promising left-arm wrist-spinner from Uttar Pradesh first believed that he belonged to the big stage.

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Kuldeep Yadav the point of difference seven years later too

Kuldeep Yadav was named Virat Kohli's replacement in India's playing XI for the final Test of an enthralling 2017 Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. At the time, it seemed a bold decision from stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane to replace a batter with an extra bowling option.

However, with the series level at 1-1, India wanted a genuine wicket-taker and the stage was set for Kuldeep to make an impact. David Warner and Steve Smith had taken Australia to 144/1 and the signs were ominous from the visitors, who threatened to take the game away from India by batting big.

Seven years on at the same venue, the hosts faced a similar situation. This time it was Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope from England, who at 100/1, threatened to bat India out of the game. In both scenarios, the pitch had no demons, and India needed inspiration to mount a fightback.

It was almost fitting that despite such a massive gap between the two Dharamsala Tests, the same individual put his hand up and led India's fightback. Kuldeep caught the Aussies by surprise with the bounce and turn he extracted and that led to the dismissals of David Warner, Peter Handscomb, and Glenn Maxwell. The then 22-year-old also dismissed Pat Cummins to end up with four wickets in the innings, ensuring the visitors were restricted to 300.

Cut to Dharamsala 2024, Kuldeep first broke a resolute opening partnership then gave India breathing space by getting Ollie Pope just at the stroke of lunch. The afternoon session was all about Kuldeep flexing his muscles and unleashing his sorcery on England's batters.

Australia went from 144/1 to 300 all-out in 2017 and England from 100/1 to 218 all-out in 2024, and both collapses were triggered by the same wrecker. But despite the similarity in the two innings, we saw two different versions of Kuldeep.

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What worked for Kuldeep Yadav 2.0?

A massive factor in Kuldeep's success during the Dharamsala 2017 Test was the element of unfamiliarity. Left-arm wrist-spinners aren't commonly found in competitive cricket and to top that, Kuldeep had played just three IPL games before his Test debut. It meant that there was very little chance that any Australian batter had enough scope of homework to face the then-debutant.

However, as the years went on, bowlers were eventually worked out with technology and analytics, and naturally, Kuldeep Yadav also had to evolve with the demands of the game. Despite his lows in the period after the 2019 World Cup to his rehabilitation after a massive leg injury in 2021, Kuldeep has come out as a smarter bowler and a better thinker of the game.

The 29-year-old has been vocal about how hard he has worked on his length and getting the ball to drift at pace. He did realize that despite getting good drift, the batters had enough time to figure out his length and negotiate accordingly.

He got his length and pace spot on for Ben Duckett, who didn't have enough time to get under the ball because of the flatter trajectory. The southpaw was deceived and had to depart after a fine catch from Shubman Gill. Pope ran down the track without picking Kuldeep's googly and Dhruv Jurel had the easiest of stumpings to complete.

Kuldeep Yadav slowly began to show his magic with the drift as well and Zak Crawley's wicket was its finest example. A batter well set on 79* is not expected to miss the length. But Kuldeep deceived the opener with an in-drift and Crawley ended up playing the wrong line.

The opener left a massive gap between his bat and pad and the ball spun through and castled his stumps. While in-drift got the better of the England opener, Kuldeep foxed Jonny Bairstow by getting the ball to drift the other way.

Bairstow, who was also playing his 100th Test, looked in the mood to take on Kuldeep. This was the same batter, who dented the latter's confidence during the 2019 World Cup game in Birmingham and also during an ODI in Pune in 2021. However, the format was different and so was Kuldeep this time.

Having been slog-swept for a six over mid-wicket, Kuldeep Yadav trusted his pace and drift to get the better of Bairstow and that's exactly what happened. The batter went for a cover drive but could only feather it to the wicketkeeper. Ben Stokes' wicket was another classic set-up where Kuldeep got one to turn and then let the drift do its job to trap the England captain right in front.

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Were there any demons on the pitch? Absolutely not. Kuldeep Yadav, just like a great magician, used deception in the air to fool the batters. The spell overall was just the tip of the iceberg, not showing the hard yards that Kuldeep had put behind the scenes to upgrade his skills.

Dharamsala once again provided the stage where Kuldeep showed what he was capable of. However, the fact that he played just 11 Tests between the two outings at the picturesque venue could leave you scratching your head.

India, particularly in home conditions, have banked on their batting depth and that's one of the main reasons why Axar Patel was preferred over Kuldeep Yadav. However, the wrist-spinner's performances in the ongoing series are a reminder of why Kuldeep should hold on to his place.

"I don't think too much about the pitch, I back my skills," Kuldeep Yadav said to the broadcaster after the end of play on Thursday.

He has shown that he can exceed expectations when given confidence and a proper run of games.

Kuldeep Yadav is like a polished diamond that deserves to shine out in the open instead of being preserved in a museum; like a Ferrari that should hit the road and not just be parked in a garage. Hopefully, the series against England is the turning point from where he becomes one of the first names on the team sheet in most of the Tests India play.