Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav turned a hero on Thursday as his five-wicket haul helped India defeat South Africa by 106 runs within the third T20I. With this win, India ended the three-match T20I sequence with 1-1 draw. Asked to bat first, the guests posted a whopping whole of 201/7 in 20 overs with skipper Suryakumar Yadav smashing 100 off 56 balls. Later, South Africa had been bundled out for 95 after Kuldeep scalped 5 wickets. Co-incidentally, there was another excuse for Kuldeep to rejoice because it was his twenty ninth birthday.

After the match led to India’s favor, Kuldeep was requested to decide on his birthday present from the 5 wickets that he scalped. However, the spinner got here up with a heart-winning response.

“I think it was Surya bhai’s batting. That was the biggest gift. He batted brilliantly. The way he was batting was great to watch because the pitch was not that easy for batting. It was really a treat to watch him bat. It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets,” Kuldeep stated in the course of the post-match press convention.

“I just wanted the team to win which is more important. I was concerned about my bowling because I was playing after some time, so wanted to get my rhythm. It was perfect today. The ball was coming out well from the hand and the conditions too suited the spinners a bit,” he added.

Kuldeep final performed in South Africa in 2018 however a knee harm in 2021, for which he underwent surgical procedure, halted his profession for 6-7 months.

However, he efficiently returned again to the sector with a brand new method.

“In 2018, I was very new and after that, couple of years I struggled with my injury and post surgery I came back and made a few changes in my bowling, especially in my run-up. Trying to be more aggressive and just trying to bowl much straighter and focusing on length,” Kuldeep stated.

(With PTI Inputs)