India wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav lauded MS Dhoni’s inputs behind the stumps as put up yet another stupendous display with the ball on Thursday, with India cruising to a six-wicket win in Durban.
Yadav was a thorn in the flesh of the South African batsmen in the middle-overs, picking up 3/45 from his quota of overs. After triggering a mini-collapse, the hosts needed skipper Faf du Plessis and Chris Morris to resurrect their innings.
Yadav said: “Actually I was confused a bit what I should bowl because I am playing in South Africa for the first time and it was a new experience for me.”
“The wind was good and the ball was drifting so I was confused what to bowl, and which variation to use. So I was asking Mahi bhai (Dhoni) and he told me ‘bowl as you are bowling’. It is good that he keeps advising from behind the wickets, it gets easier.”
“As a spinner, he [Dhoni] does 50 per cent of your work because he has played so much cricket; he reads the batsmen easily”
Dhoni could constantly heard on the stump mic throughout the game, vociferously instructing Yadav and the rest of the Indian bowling pack about what bowling lengths they should be operating in.
The 23-year-old also had words of praise for his skipper, Virat Kohli, who starred with the bat and completed his 20th ton in a chase, “When you have two legends, Virat [Kohli] and Mahi, one is leading the team and the other has led the team, it is helpful,” Yadav said.
“The mindset comes from the captain,” the left-arm wrist-spinner said. “The way Virat bhai talks, he always tells us one extra wicket is more important than trying to save 10 runs. If your captain tells you that, then you start believing yourself. We then back our strengths.”