"The England batters did not have any idea" - Zaheer Khan lauds Kuldeep Yadav's spell on Day 1 of 5th IND vs ENG Test

Zaheer Khan has lauded Kuldeep Yadav for bamboozling the opposition batters on the first day of the fifth Test between India and England in Dharamsala on Thursday, March 7.

Kuldeep registered figures of 5/72 in 15 overs as India bundled England out for 218 in their first innings. The hosts ended the day at a comfortable 135/1, with Rohit Sharma (52* off 83) and Shubman Gill (26* off 39) at the crease.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Zaheer was asked to rate Kuldeep's performance on a scale of 10. He responded:

"I won't say no if you want to give him even 15 or 20 because it was a day like that for him. You need to be praised if you give such a contribution on the first day of a match as a spinner. The England batters did not have any idea, whether the ball was coming in, going out, or if it was a straighter one."

"If you are not even able to figure that out as a batter, you will definitely have problems whether there is help from the pitch or not. Kuldeep caused those sort of problems for the England batters," the former India pacer added.

Zaheer noted that the left-arm wrist-spinner added another chapter to the memorable time he has had in Dharamsala.

"He will remember this day for a long time. He also made his debut here. So you can add a good performance to that. So Kuldeep will definitely include this ground in his special grounds," he observed.

Kuldeep made his debut against Australia in the only other Test played at the venue in March 2017. He returned figures of 4/68 in the first innings to help India register an eight-wicket win in the series decider.

---

"Rohit Sharma also needs to be praised" - Owais Shah on the early introduction of Kuldeep Yadav

Rohit Sharma (right) introduced Kuldeep Yadav into the attack before Ravindra Jadeja.

Owais Shah opined that Rohit Sharma also deserves credit for Kuldeep Yadav's success. He explained:

"I feel Rohit Sharma also needs to be praised. Generally, when India play three spinners, he uses Ravichandran Ashwin and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) at the start, and then he goes towards Kuldeep Yadav."

"This time he gave the ball to Kuldeep and asked him to show what he could do on this wicket and he showed it by taking five wickets. So you need to credit the captaincy as well," the former England batter added.

Kuldeep was introduced into the attack in the 18th over. He dismissed Ben Duckett in his first over to end a 64-run opening-wicket partnership before getting rid of Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes to complete his five-wicket haul.