With Ashwin absent and the series delicately poised, Kuldeep rose to the occasion and turned the tables on England.
Kuldeep Yadav will end his career with many more wickets than Ben Duckett on Saturday. But few will have left him as satisfied, relieved and vindicated as this one.
Though all wickets count the same on the scorecard, this one could be considered better in the context of the mesmerising spell of wristspin that produced it. However, it may have been the ideal method for Kuldeep to dismiss Duckett - a Bazball wicket to conclude a Bazball innings.
During the second morning of the Rajkot Test, Kuldeep bowled six overs and conceded 42 runs. Of those runs, 29 were scored by a marauding Duckett in just 16 balls. Although six of those 16 balls went to the boundary, only one or two of them were the result of a genuinely bad ball. It is difficult to determine whether Kuldeep bowled well or poorly when he was taken out of the attack. The truth probably lay somewhere in between, but bowlers don't usually concede seven runs per over during spells in Test cricket that are somewhere in between.
Such is Bazball's fast-paced rhythm. Rohit Sharma, India's captain, came in for a barrage of criticism at the end of Kuldeep's spell. In the sixth over of England's innings, he had brought on Kuldeep ahead of R Ashwin as his first change. He had done this even though anyone with a basic understanding of Indian cricket would know how good Ashwin is when bowling with a new ball, against left-handed batters, and specifically against Ben Duckett.
Prior to this match, Ashwin had bowled 83 balls to Duckett in Test cricket, conceding 37 runs and dismissing him five times, resulting in an average of 7.40.
Rohit initially turned to Kuldeep. By the end of day two, Duckett had scored 133 runs off 118 balls. England was 202 for 2 in 35 overs in response to India's 445.
The scorecard suggested that the match was still undecided, but for India fans, the absence of Ashwin, their biggest match-winner at home for over a decade, made it seem like a lost cause. Ashwin had pulled out of the match for personal reasons, leaving India without one of the all-time greats with 500 Test wickets to his name.
This occurred before the middle day of the middle Test of a series locked 1-1. It felt like a day of tectonic shifts, regardless of the outcome.
At the start of the day, India opened with Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep.
Bumrah's reputation precedes him, as he consistently demands respect from the opposition. However, Kuldeep's abilities were less well-known. Despite having an impressive record of three five-wicket hauls and an average of 22.73 before this game, he had only played ten Test matches in eight years. This bowler was hailed as India's top overseas spinner by his coach after his first tour of Australia. He did not play in India's subsequent tour of Australia, despite half of their team being injured by the start of the final Test. He has shown significant improvement as a white-ball bowler, with increased pace and resilience. He has not been thoroughly tested in Test cricket since making these improvements.
What can be expected from this 29-year-old player who is gifted but lacks experience and has only partially proven himself?
In this tense match and series situation, he delivered 12 unbroken overs from the start of day three until two overs before lunch, taking two wickets for 35 runs. In the context of all the previous Bazballing against Kuldeep and every other Indian bowler, the 35 runs in 12 overs were as remarkable as the two wickets. This equates to a fraction less than three runs per over. Despite bowling 17 balls to Duckett, who had previously taken him for 29 off 16 on the second evening, Kuldeep managed to maintain his impressive performance.
Why Rohit had bowled Kuldeep six overs into England's innings became clear in that 12-over spell. Ashwin's bowling would also have been an excellent move, but only one bowler can do the job at any given time.
Kuldeep is a skilled bowler.
Although he wasn't at his best on Friday evening, he was restricted by Duckett. When a batter frequently sweeps, a bowler typically has two options: bowl stump-to-stump and full to look for lbw, or bowl wider to force the batter to drag the sweep from outside off stump. In Kuldeep's case, he bowls against the turn. On day two, Kuldeep chose the more attacking option, which kept more modes of dismissal in play. Perhaps he was a little too straight on occasion, drifting down leg, and in going for the quick lbw ball, perhaps he sacrificed one of his best attributes - his loop.
On day three, he adjusted by bowling wider and providing more protection on the leg-side boundary. Kuldeep pitched 11 of his 17 balls outside Duckett's off stump. This is a significant increase from his first spell, where he only did so twice in 16 balls. Kuldeep varied his pace constantly and bowled with more overspin, causing the ball to rise above the batter's eyeline. This made it more difficult for Duckett to sweep and increased the chances of the ball bouncing and threatening the top edge.
Duckett dispelled any discomfort caused by Kuldeep's change of plans by the end of the day's play.
From India's perspective, preventing Duckett from sweeping was a victory as it enabled Kuldeep to consistently land the ball in the good-length area outside off stump. This was especially effective when bowling from the Media Box End, where a cluster of footmarks had developed. Additionally, Duckett was not only scoring singles but also appeared to be slightly unsure. One ball bounced past a defensive prod, another skidded under an attempted slap-drive, and a third found the edge as Duckett went low to reverse-sweep. Rohit Sharma, who was stretched to the limit at slip, got a fingertip to it, but that was all he could do.
By this time, India had already taken two wickets. Bumrah, who had previously dismissed Root eight times, tempted him into a reverse-scoop that didn't quite come off. Kuldeep made a mood-altering incision, slanting one across Jonny Bairstow and getting it to rip back, trapping him on the crease. Bairstow played for the flatter trajectory instead of the fuller-side-of-good length, which proved fatal as he went onto the back foot. The ball had too much zip off the track for Bairstow to adjust, as is often the case nowadays.
The arrival of Ben Stokes demonstrated Kuldeep's proficiency in exploiting the footmarks outside the left-handers' off stump. He possesses a deceptive and potent wrong'un, but he uses it sparingly. Sensing that Stokes was struggling to pick it, he bowled it twice and beat him twice on the inside edge when he attempted to defend. On the second occasion, extra bounce denied him a clean-bowled, leaving him with his hands on his head.
India would have undoubtedly preferred to have Ashwin in the team to increase England's misery. But his absence had an unexpected benefit: the other four bowlers had to bowl longer spells. Bumrah's morning was seven, Jadeja's six (which could have been longer had England not been dismissed) just before lunch, and Siraj's 11.1.
Longer spells can be exhausting, but they can also help establish a rhythm if the ball is coming out well. Kuldeep bowled his full 12-over allotment with precision, consistently landing the ball where he intended and following through with the exact arc he had envisioned at the top of his mark. Most wristspinners struggle to balance the trade-off between imparting spin on the ball and landing it accurately. Yet what made Shane Warne so freakishly good was that he was able to do both, time and time again, while constantly playing with angles and wrist position.
Although Kuldeep Yadav may not generate as much spin as Warne, he still has room for improvement in terms of accuracy. However, he possesses the ability to spin the ball as effectively as any current player, resulting in both turn and movement before reaching the pitch.
Additionally, he displays impressive accuracy for a wristspinner, as evidenced by his 12-over morning spell where he avoided bowling any long-hops. Unfortunately, on this occasion, he was unable to maintain his consistency, and his delivery to end Duckett's innings was one of the worst he has ever bowled in any form of cricket.
Kuldeep achieved his 40th Test wicket in only his 10th Test match, with an impressive average of 23.52. Among the 10 wristspinners who have taken at least 40 wickets since Warne's retirement, Kuldeep has the best average. In fact, no one else has an average of less than 30. The next-best on the list, Yasir Shah, has picked up 244 wickets at 31.38.
Kuldeep's record is remarkable despite his Test career being a stop-start so far. It is uncertain whether this will change soon, as R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja still have a lot to offer, and Axar Patel and Washington Sundar provide significant all-round value. However, Kuldeep's performance on Saturday demonstrated his ability to turn the game in favourable batting conditions, even against strong line-ups that attack him. Kuldeep's Test future may be more about starting than stopping, and his rare and invaluable skills were evident to the observer.