Kuldeep Yadav

20 months after his last Test appearance, Kuldeep, in one of the most remarkable displays of spin bowling all year, bulldozed Bangladesh.

Only time will tell if this showing today from Kuldeep will turn out to be a mere wild one-off, or the start of a renaissance in red-ball cricket. Sending Shakib back to the hut meant that Kuldeep had the luxury of bowling to two right-handers — Nurul and Mushfiqur — and boy he pounced on the opportunity. As if the turn wasn’t hard enough to negate, the inconsistent bounce on the wicket made life impossible for Nurul and Mushfiqur. It took the wrist-spinner just two balls to strike as he had Shakib caught at first slip. He beat debutant Zakir Hasan on the outside edge twice in his first three balls of the match, but then went about seven-and-a-half overs posing little to no threat. This is something that tends to happen on SENA wickets but in the sub-continent? In his post-tea spell, which comprised 7 overs, Ashwin drew less than 12% false shots, the Bangladesh batters managing a control percentage of 88%. However, the 10 overs Kuldeep bowled went a long way in showcasing the value an x-factor spinner like him adds to the side. The veteran, at least in his first spell, was uncharacteristically off-colour. He impressed in the ‘A’ series with the bat too, smashing a swashbuckling 55 off just 39 balls the only time he batted. At 75/4, Bangladesh were already on the ropes when skipper Rahul introduced Kuldeep into the attack and the hosts would, in all likelihood, have faltered eventually even if the wrist-spinner hadn’t done what he did. The unofficial Test series between India ‘A’ and Bangladesh ‘A’ concluded on December 9 and Saurabh dominated the two matches, picking 15 wickets at an average of 14.46.