"On TV, it looks like a normal ball" - Cheteshwar Pujara lauds Kuldeep Yadav's spell in IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Former India player Cheteshwar Pujara has lauded Kuldeep Yadav for delivering a potent spell on Day 1 of the second Test against South Africa. He noted that while a ball might look normal to the viewers, the batters get deceived by the flight and pace variation.

Kuldeep registered figures of 3/48 in 17 overs in Guwahati on Saturday, November 22. South Africa ended the day at 247/6 in their first innings, with Senuran Muthusamy (25*) and Kyle Verreynne (1*) being the unbeaten batters.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pujara praised Kuldeep for picking up three crucial wickets, highlighting that the left-arm wrist-spinner forced the batters to commit mistakes.

"He took three important wickets. The line is most important. He forces the batters to play that line and fiddle with the ball. He varied his pace. The ball to Tristan Stubbs went straight and KL Rahul took a good catch. The ball to Wiaan Mulder was good, but it wasn't great. You can call it a slightly bad shot," the former India batter said.

"Batters get deceived many times when you vary your pace. On TV, it looks like a normal ball, but when you play that ball as a batter, you feel it's a flighted delivery, and you can hit it over the top. However, that attempt to hit over the top wasn't successful. It's a game of the mind. It's called forced errors. He forced the batters to do something different," he added.

Kuldeep Yadav had Tristan Stubbs caught by KL Rahul at slip for a 112-ball 49. He had Wiaan Mulder caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-off for an 18-ball 13.

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"Importance of a wrist-spinner on a pitch that is not spin-ready" - Aakash Chopra on Kuldeep Yadav's spell in IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Ryan Rickelton with his second ball after Tea. [P/C: BCCI/X]

In the same discussion, former India batter Aakash Chopra noted that Kuldeep Yadav's success on Day 1 of the Guwahati Test shows the importance of a wrist-spinner.

"Importance of a wrist-spinner on a pitch that is not spin-ready. That is the only difference. Of course, he has quality, but Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) and Washi (Washington Sundar) also have quality. However, that's the difference between a finger-spinner and a wrist-spinner. If the pitch is spin-ready, finger-spinners create as much havoc," he said.

Reflecting on Ryan Rickelton's dismissal, the cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the full deliveries bowled by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar didn't turn as much.

"However, if the pitch is like this, where that much spin isn't available, then you need a wrist-spinner who can extract extra from it, whether it's in the air, dip, or drift. The way Ryan Rickelton got out, such a full ball from any other spinner didn't turn that much. A wrist-spinner has great importance because of the side spin he imparts," Chopra observed.

Ryan Rickelton was Kuldeep Yadav's first victim in South Africa's first innings. The left-handed opener was caught behind by Rishabh Pant for an 82-ball 35.