NEW DELHI: Kuldeep Yadav delivered not just a match-winning performance but also a light-hearted moment after India sealed the ODI series against South Africa with a commanding nine-wicket victory in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Speaking after the win, Kuldeep referred to Rohit Sharma as the captain before quickly correcting himself to name KL Rahul, who led the side in the absence of Shubman Gill.
“With DRS, I’m honestly terrible — and he (Rohit Sharma) never misses a chance to pull my leg about it. But whenever I’m bowling and hit the pad, I genuinely feel like every ball is a wicket,” Kuldeep said with a laugh.“So having a captain like him (Rohit), former captain and obviously KL Rahul,” he added, immediately correcting himself before continuing.“KL has been brilliant behind the stumps especially with DRS calls. As a bowler, you always feel every ‘not out’ is actually out, so you need people around you who remind you to stay calm. Sometimes they just look at me and say, ‘Relax — we only have two DRS reviews’,” he said.Kuldeep was one of the architects of India’s dominant win, returning figures of 4-41. Watch the video hereHis spell, along with Prasidh Krishna’s 4-65, restricted South Africa to 270 despite a fighting 106 from Quinton de Kock and a quick 48 from skipper Temba Bavuma.The wrist-spinner later posted a celebratory message on Instagram: “Fought hard for this one.”Reflecting on conditions, Kuldeep said it was a relief to bowl with a dry ball after losing tosses in the previous two games.“We started well, Arshdeep and Harshit, they kept tight lines… Bowling with a dry ball is a luxury after the first two games. We lost 20 successive tosses; finally, we won it. Very happy,” he said.With the win, India sealed the series 2-1—marking another confident step in their ODI rebuild.





