Jos Buttler backs England to contain India spinner Kuldeep Yadav
Jos Buttler has urged England not to panic as they try to find a way to combat India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep took five for 24, including Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root for first-ball ducks, as India waltzed to an eight-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international in Manchester on Tuesday.
And with the second game taking place in Cardiff on Friday, England have little time to put things right.
Kuldeep Yadav of India (centre) celebrates taking the wicket of Jos Buttler in Tuesday's T20
Their preparation will involve batting against Merlyn, their custom-built spin-bowling machine, and studying video footage of the rarest type of delivery in the game. Above all, they must learn how to read Kuldeep’s googly, which he employed more than usual at Old Trafford.
Buttler was one of his five victims, but only after he had blazed a typically brilliant 69 off 46 balls. And he insisted familiarity will be the key to dealing with a bowler whose 24 wickets in Twenty20 internationals have cost just 11 apiece.
‘It’s down to the guys to gain an understanding,’ he said. ‘Bowlers burst on to the scene in international cricket and then people get a handle on them. It’s getting used to the angle: wrist-spin is usually right-arm. And it’s about understanding that you shouldn’t get too flustered.
‘With spin it can all happen quickly: suddenly you have faced a few balls and aren’t off the mark. So it’s not allowing that to affect you. We know we are a lot better than we showed during that little phase of the game.’
The spin sensation sent Joe Root back to the pavilion for a duck en route to India's victory
Big-hitter Jonny Bairstow also failed to get off the mark after being fooled by the spinner
‘One thing we can do is use Merlyn to replicate the angle. But it was the first time some guys have faced him and it may take one or two games. Video will help too.’
India, though, took extra pleasure in the fact that Kuldeep wreaked havoc on a surface that barely spun, leading their captain Virat Kohli to proclaim: ‘When it turns, he’s going to be even more lethal. He’s very difficult to pick.’
And Kuldeep himself admitted his tactics boiled down to two principles: he varied his pace, and he was happy to give Buttler a single in a bid to get at the batsman at the other end.
‘It was the first time I have bowled to them, so maybe it was easy,’ he said. ‘They will probably prepare very well for me now.’
If they don’t, it will be first blood to India.