"He always keeps you in the game": Shubman Gill hails Kuldeep Yadav after series win against West Indies

New Delhi [India], October 14 (ANI): India Test captain Shubman Gill lauded spinner Kuldeep Yadav for his match-winning performance in the second Test in Delhi against the West Indies (WI).
Gill said on Cricket Live, "I am extremely happy with Kuldeep. He's someone who's always been a strike bowler for us. And you're always tempted, in whatever conditions you play, to play a wrist spinner, especially someone like Kuldeep."
The skipper further said, "But sometimes you have to weigh your options, whether you want to go with an extra all-rounder or a wrist spinner. He's someone who always keeps you in the game, no matter what kind of surface you're playing on."
Kuldeep Yadav was the standout performer with the ball, picking up eight wickets in the second Test, including a brilliant five-wicket haul in the first innings. The left-arm wrist spinner finished as the highest wicket-taker of the series with 12 wickets, underlining his growing importance in India's red-ball setup.
India sealed a 2-0 whitewash, Gill's first series win as full-time Test captain.
Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. After fall of KL Rahul (38 in 54 balls, with five fours and a six), Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a 193-run stand with Sai Sudharsan (87 in 165 balls, 12 fours) and a 74-run stand with skipper Shubman Gill before being run-out for 258-ball 175, with 22 fours. Gill continued his golden run in Tests, bringing his fifth ton of the year (129* in 196 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes) and had partnerships with Nitish Kumar Reddy (43 in 54 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (44* in 79 balls, with five fours) taking India to 518/5 declared.
Jomel Warrican (3/98) was the pick of the bowlers for WI.
In their first innings, WI was skittled out for 248 runs as top-order knocks from Tagenarine Chanderpaul (34 in 67 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Alick Athaneze (41 in 84 balls, with five fours and a six) and Shai Hope (36 in 57 balls, with five fours) were barely starts which could not be the milestones.
Kuldeep Yadav (5/82) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/46) troubled WI with their spin on a slow track.
Forced to follow on, WI was once again down at 35/2, but a 177-run stand between John Campbell (115 in 199 balls, with 12 fours and three sixes) and Hope (103 in 214 balls with 12 fours and two sixes) helped WI fight back well. A fine 40 in 72 balls from skipper Roston Chase and a remarkable 10th wicket stand of 79 runs between Justin Greaves (50 in 85 balls, with three fours) and Jayden Seales (32 in 67 balls, with a four and six) frustrated India, as WI was bundled out for 390 and took a 120-run lead. Kuldeep and Jasprit Bumrah, with their three wickets, topped the wicket charts.
In the run-chase of 121, India lost Yashasvi early for 8, while KL and Sai Sudharsan (39 in 76 balls, with five fours) had a 79-run stand. Skipper Gill was also dismissed cheaply, but KL's unbeaten 58* in 108 balls, with six fours and two sixes) anchored the innings and took India home with seven wickets in hand.
Kuldeep's eight wickets earned him the 'Player of the Match' award while for Jadeja, his century in Ahmedabad and total of eight wickets in the series gave him his third 'Player of the Series' trophy as India won the series 2-0. (ANI)