Port of Spain: India skipper Virat Kohli was all praise for debutant chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and opener Ajinkya Rahane after India’s 105-run victory over West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval here Sunday. In reply to India’s first innings score of 310 for five in the rain-curtailed 43 overs a side game, the hosts could only manage 205 for six. The West Indies batsmen were unable to pick Kuldeep who ended up with three wickets on his ODI debut.
Kohli described Kuldeep as a lethal bowler. “His cross seam deliveries turn both ways. I have faced him in the IPL. He’s quite amazing with what he does with the bowl and especially on dry wickets like it was today (Sunday), he becomes even more lethal. Credit to him for putting up such a performance,” he pointed out.
“A wrist spinner is a bonus and it augurs well for us keeping the 2019 World Cup in mind. We have a huge pool of players and that is good for the game,” he added.
Kohli said that Kuldeep’s ability to vary pace is an added asset. “That is another reason why batsmen fail to pick him. He had two stumpings and that is because the Windies batsmen failed to judge the pace on his deliveries,” asserted Kohli.
Talking about Rahane’s knock, Kohli said that he always had faith in the batsman’s abilities.
“Jinx (Rahane) has been a part of the ODI set-up for a while and we all felt he had a great potential at the top of the order. He is always there as the third opening batsman,” Kohli told reporters.
“In this series, he has batted really well in both the games. He paced his innings well today. He is such an established Test batsman. He wants to make it count in the shorter format also. I think he has started taking a lot less pressure on himself and has begun enjoying his game more,” added the Indian skipper.
Highlights
The 105-run victory achieved by India over the West Indies is a new record. The hosts have never lost any home game by such a huge margin as far as runs are concerned
India’s score of 310 for six is the 96th time they have scored 300 or more in an ODI – the most by any team. Earlier the record stood jointly in the name of India and Australia. Both had scored 300 or more 95 times