“100% it was a good wicket, it was challenging” - Kuldeep Yadav on Lucknow surface

Team India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav described the Lucknow surface that was used for the 2023 World Cup match against England on Sunday as a good wicket for ODIs. The bowler explained that the 50-over format is all about testing various skills, which the Lucknow strip brought into play.

India beat England by 100 runs in a low-scoring game to maintain their unbeaten run in the World Cup and reclaim their top spot in the points table. Batting first, the Men in Blue were held to 229/9, but their bowlers bundled out a struggling England for 129 in 34.5 overs.

Amid a plethora of high-scoring matches in the 2023 World Cup, the struggles of the batters in the India-England tie was an interesting variation. At the post-match press conference, Kuldeep was asked if he felt the Lucknow pitch was good for ODIs.

“100% it was a good wicket. It was challenging. 50-over [cricket] is all about skill. If you are set, then batting is easy and at night the ball was seaming well, and if you have quality seamers, then you are always in the game. 100% this was perfect wicket for one-day,” he said.

The 28-year-old continued his amazing run in the World Cup, registering figures of 2/24 from eight overs. He cleaned up England captain Jos Buttler (10) with a beauty that is trending as “ball of the tournament” on social media and also trapped Liam Livingstone (27) lbw.

Asked to analyze the two key dismissals, he opined:

“Both the balls were good. I think both the balls were the same. There were no changes. The quality is important, and the quality of the players is also very important. They were very important wickets. And the team won - that is more important.”

In six matches in the 2023 World Cup so far, Kuldeep has claimed 10 wickets at an average of 26.10 and an economy rate of 4.50.

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“All teams tend to have these low phases” - Kuldeep Yadav on England’s downfall

Kuldeep empathized with England, who are having a forgettable run in the 2023 World Cup. The defending champions are last in the points table, with a solitary win from six matches. Shockingly, the losses have been by huge margins.

“They are a fantastic team and changed the way the game is played over the last few years. All teams tend to have these low phases. As for us, we just want to play good cricket and not think too much about the opposition,” the Indian spinner responded to a query on England’s shocking performance.

Meanwhile, Team India will next face Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, November 2.