• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Pura Road Tha Kuldeep Yadav Shares Brutal Verdict On Guwahati Pitch For 2nd Test

"Pura road tha": Kuldeep Yadav shares brutal verdict on Guwahati pitch for 2nd Test

Soumyajit Dutta

Kuldeep Yadav [Source: @BCCI/X]Kuldeep Yadav [Source: @BCCI/X]

The second Test between India and South Africa at Guwahati saw the hosts reeling and struggling, putting the visitors in a dominating position. After the Indian team wished to bundle the visitors out within a total of 300 runs, the lower order, especially Senuran Muthusamy, forged resilience to make up for a total of 489 in their first innings. 

After the end of day's play, India spinner Kuldeep Yadav shared a candid and honest assessment of the bowling conditions at Guwahati. 

Kuldeep Yadav gives brutal assessment of Guwahati pitch

Speaking after the match, Kuldeep Yadav shared his honest opinion and expressed that the pitch in Guwahati is completely different from the one they played on at Kolkata, even calling the Guwahati pitch a 'road'.

“Kolkata ka wicket to alag that. Yeh to pura road tha (Kolkata’s wicket was different; this was a proper road). So, it’s challenging and that’s why it’s called a Test wicket,” Kuldeep told the reporters.

Further, Kuldeep Yadav shared that though there has been trouble with the pitch, it is not always about dominating opponents with the help of wickets. He stressed the fact that batters can do better on this kind of pitch and help the team.

“It is not always about domination, but it is also very important how you come back on a good batting surface. It was a difficult wicket for the bowlers because I didn’t feel that there was a lot of help in this wicket,” Kuldeep added.

Kuldeep stresses the minimal assistance bowlers got from the pitch

Kuldeep, however, didn't forget to mention that the pitch wasn't of much help for pace bowlers as well, since Jasprit Bumrah, the ace pacer of India, and Mohammed Siraj scalped two wickets each, while Kuldeep Yadav became the leading wicket-taker with four wickets. 

“Even for fast bowlers, it didn’t seem like a lot of help, but yeah, this is Test cricket and you should enjoy it. You should enjoy, learn more, and the more you mature, you shouldn’t think too much about the wicket. You should go there and play. Next Test, there could be a better wicket, so no complaints,” Kuldeep said.

Kuldeep, however, was much more detailed about the assessment of the pitch on Day 2. After the lower order of South Africa settled in, Kuldeep mentioned that the little assistance that he got on day one evaporated on Day 2 of the surface because of lost moisture. 

“There wasn’t any turn yesterday, as well as today. Today was much better to bat on because I hardly got any turn. Even me and Jadeja, we have been talking about that,” Kuldeep concluded.

Currently, India bat with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul at the crease to craft an uphill task at the time of writing, as India trail by over 400 runs and have three days left to conquer this battle at Barsapara Stadium.