“Bumrah, Siraj have done really well”: Kuldeep Yadav lauds pace duo for India’s fast start at WC

Kuldeep Yadav credited pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for Men in Blue's undefeated campaign in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023

Dharamsala: India’s ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav credited pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for Men in Blue’s undefeated campaign in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 and believes that pace attack is a key to their fast start in the marquee tournament.

The Men in Blue made a strong start to their ODI World Cup campaign, winning four back-to-back matches. India opened its campaign with a six-wicket victory over five-time champion Australia, followed by an eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan. Then they went on to thump arch-rival Pakistan by seven wickets followed by a fine victory against Bangaldesh.

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“It’s very important to start off very well with the first Powerplay. Jasprit and Siraj have done really well,” India spinner Kuldeep Yadav told the ICC “Not just giving us wickets, but probably just containing the runs as well (for) when me and Jaddu bhai (Ravindra Jadeja) come to bowl. We’ve always got one or two wickets, only today (against Bangladesh) we felt that they got a very good start,” he added.

India batters are breathing fire such as skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have smashed massive runs as hosts chased down their four targets while the bowling attack has been just as important in setting up each victory.

India has scalped 36 wickets in four matches, skittling out both Australia and Pakistan for less than 200 runs and grabbing eight wickets against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

While India’s pace duo of Bumrah and Siraj are rocking the opponents the spin twins Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja are also playing a pivotal role in Men in Blue’s unbeaten World Cup campaign.

Bumrah has taken the second-most wickets in the tournament with 10, while Siraj and all-rounder Hardik Pandya each have five. Spinner duo Jadeja bagged seven wickets while Kuldeep is also among the tidiest bowlers with six scalps.

“We’re just working on the length and we’re keeping it very simple, me and Jaddu bhai. We’re getting good wickets as well, but it’s very important to keep it very simple and just maintain that in every game, that’s very important. If you pick an early wicket in the middle overs, definitely it gives you confidence and it just controls the run rate as well,” Kuldeep said.

The two-time champions will aim to continue their winning campaign when they face unbeaten New Zealand in a top-of-the-table blockbuster at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday.

“The opposition is good, but we feel we are very comfortable, playing good cricket. That’s more important than anything. Obviously when you face good sides in the World Cup, there’s a lot of pressure, but at the same time it’s very important to keep calm and keep playing good cricket. We as a team are doing really well, so we’d just like to continue the same in the next game,” Kuldeep said.