Together, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are fondly called ‘KulCha’ in the Indian cricket circle. Both are good friends and have had a similar fate recently as they lost their respective places in the Indian white-ball team.  But now ‘KulCha’ are back in form in IPL 2022. They are the two most successful bowlers in the event. Friends off the field, Yadav and Chahal are in a tight fight for the Purple Cap, currently being held by Chahal, who has 18 wickets from eight matches. On Thursday, Yadav moved up to the second spot in the leading bowlers’ list with a 4/14 haul against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium.

He now has 17 wickets at a strike rate of 10.47 as compared to 10.65 of Chahal. Yadav said there is no competition or rivalry with Chahal. “He has encouraged me a lot. He has been like a big brother and stood by me during my bad times. In my heart, I want him to go and win the Purple Cap because he has been bowling exceptionally over the past four years,” said Yadav. He said the period when he was struggling to get wickets has made him mentally strong.

“When you fail in life, you get to know where you went wrong. When you manage to figure that out, it makes you mentally strong and you are no longer afraid of failure.” Yadav picked the wicket of Andre Russell as his favourite of the four he got on Thursday. He said he set him up well and therefore it was very dear to him. The Delhi Capitals’ spinner further said he feels that this is his best season in the IPL and he has backed his skill. He concluded by saying that for this season, his focus has been to land the ball in the right areas.

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‘Yuzvendra Chahal Stood By Me During My Bad Times’-Kuldeep Yadav

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 saw yet another mouth-watering game of cricket between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After being asked to bat first, KKR were restricted to 146 for 9. Besides captain Shreyas Iyer (42), the KKR top-order struggled to get going against the Capitals’ bowlers at the Wankhede Stadium.

Batting at number six, Nitish Rana top-scored with 57 off 34 balls and hit three fours and four sixes, even as the others failed to leave KKR reeling at 35/4 at one stage. DC chased down the target with six balls to spare. Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the most impressive bowler with figures of 4/14 from three overs, while Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets in a brilliant final over.

The Chinaman bowler continues to spin a web around the Kolkata Knight Riders batters. Kuldeep bagged a second straight four-wicket haul against his previous franchise on Thursday. His manner of using the flight in one delivery and suddenly increasing the pace in another was there for everyone to see. He finished with figures of 4 for 14 which included the wickets of Shreyas and the dangerous Andre Russell. Based on his heroics, he bagged the player of the match, for the fourth time this season.

After the KKR middle-order surrendered to Kuldeep, it was Nitish Rana who played a resilient knock towards the end. His 62-run partnership with Rinku Singh (23 off 16 balls) for the seventh wicket proved to be a saving grace after the two-time champions slumped to 83 for six at one stage. He scored a 34-ball 57, defying the DC attack to save KKR from getting all out under 100. His gritty innings was laced with 4 maximums and 3 boundaries.

Rinku has developed a habit of making special appearances. In the last game against Gujarat Titans, he made his presence felt by taking four catches. On Thursday, he showcased his batting skills, featuring in the 62-run partnership with Nitish Rana. Interestingly, he was only the third KKR batter after captain Shreyas Iyer and Rana to smash boundaries in the game. Rinku ended up scoring 23 off 16 deliveries with the help of 3 boundaries.