"Knew that the incoming deliveries were difficult" - Kuldeep Yadav on dream delivery to Daryl Mitchell

India's Kuldeep Yadav cleaning up New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell with an absolute beauty was one of the highlights of the low-scoring thriller in Lucknow on Sunday (January 29).

Mitchell tried to negotiate Kuldeep's deliveries on the back foot as the pitch was turning square. In the final ball of the 10th over, the chinaman bowler landed a delivery outside the off-stump. It turned sharply and went straight through Mitchell's bat and pad, rattling his stumps to leave the Kiwis tottering at 48/4.

The batter had no clue as he had to walk back to the pavilion with a seemingly bemused look on his face.

Speaking to teammates Yuzvendra Chahal and Suryakumar Yadav in a video posted by BCCI, Kuldeep Yadav opened up on the dismissal. He said:

"(On Mitchell's dismissal) I didn't plan that dismissal, but the way the pitch was turning, I knew that the incoming deliveries were difficult to negotiate. I was varying my pace well and wasn't giving much flight as the pitch didn't demand it."

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Yuzvendra Chahal also agreed with Kuldeep Yadav's ploy of bowling quicker

Like Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal also decided to bowl a lot flatter and quicker in Lucknow. Chahal felt that there was enough turn in the pitch and that the extra effort to give the ball that air wasn't needed.

On this, the leg-spinner stated:

"When I bowled my first ball and it turned square, I had realized that this was that kind of a pitch where even 110-120 was going to be difficult. Since I bowled in the powerplay, I wanted to make sure i don't go for boundaries and so I bowled a bit quicker."

Chahal also became the highest wicket-taker in men's T20Is when he dismissed Finn Allen in his first over in the match on Sunday. He spoke about how he felt having achieved such a special feat and added:

"It's always a great feeling to play for India and when you end up picking the most wickets in any format, it's always special. I never thought I would be able to achieve this."

The three-match series now stands level at 1-1, with the final contest set to take place on Wednesday, February 1, in Ahmedabad.

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India’s T20I squad against New Zealand: Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.