Indian origin spinner helped South Africa tackle Kuldeep and Chahal

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been a nightmare for the South African batsmen in the ongoing ODI series, but the tables have turned big time. Chahal leaked runs heavily whilst the case was similar with Kuldeep in the fourth ODI. Eventually, South Africa managed to win their first game and kept the series alive.

Although the batters did struggle against Chahal when he tossed the ball up, they seemed a bit more comfortable in picking his wrong’uns. Whilst many are figuring out how this all happened, it is actually an Indian-origin spinner who’s helping the Proteas. Ajay Rajput, a former Madhya Pradesh cricketer who also represented his state in the Ranji Trophy, is the one who made the difference.

A day before the Pink ODI, Ajay was spotted bowling to a lot of Proteas batsmen for a long time. He was apparently called up by the Johannesburg Cricket Club chairman to come and bowl in the nets. Ajay is presently playing at the Johannesburg Premier league and is the highest wicket taker among the spinners having claimed over 400 wickets already.

“I was given a call by the Johannesburg Cricket Club chairman to come and bowl at the South African batsman,” Ajay said as quoted by Xtratime.in.

Bounce factor in South Africa makes a difference

Ajay said he tried bowling slower through the air, similar to how Kuldeep and Chahal bowl. Both these Indian wrist spinners managed to bamboozle the Proteas batters with some absolute beauties, most of them being slower ones. They clearly spotted the problem, but to find a solution to it was not an easy thing.

“The South Africans feel Chahal and Kuldeep are bowling slower through the air, allowing the ball to drift and turn. So, I was asked to flight the ball and bowl as slow as possible to get familiar with the turn,” said Ajay, who has been playing league cricket in Johannesburg for five years.

“The difference between here and India is the bounce. I used to get a turn even back home but here I get that extra bounce, which just makes matter more difficult for batsmen,” he added.

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