Cricket World Cup 2023: How Kuldeep fought back after the Kiwi onslaught

Kuldeep Yadav, India's trump card in the middle overs, found himself at the receiving end in Dharamshala for the first time in the World Cup but he managed to pull himself out of the hole by sticking to his "strength".

Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja have made India the best performing bowling unit in the middle overs so far in the competition but the game against New Zealand showed either of them can have a rare off day and it could spell trouble for the hosts.

The 28-year-old left-arm wrist spinner from Kanpur has been rewarded for targeting the stumps, varying his pace and tossing up the ball since his comeback from injury.

He has consistently delivered for India over the past 18 months but was taken to the cleaners by Daryl Mitchell on Sunday.

The in-form right hander resorted to what the other teams' batters could not attempt against Kuldeep, stepping out and launching an attack.

In an attempt to break his rhythm, Mitchell hit him for three straight sixes.

Rachin Ravindra also did the same against Kuldeep who leaked 48 runs in his first five overs and eventually 73 from his quota of 10 overs.

With his stock plan not working, the wily Indian went for a fast seam up against the rampaging Mitchell.

The old Kuldeep might have opted to alter his length after the onslaught but he continued to attack in his comeback spell resulting in two important wickets of Tom Lathan and the dangerous Glenn Phillips.

He would have got rid of Mitchell too if Bumrah held on to a regulation catch in the deep.

Former India spinner and selector Sarandeep Singh lauded Kuldeep's comeback against the Black Caps.

"He can't perform in every game. I would say it is good thing that it happened against New Zealand, he will be better prepared for the next game. And he did bounce back to take those two wickets, else we were looking at a 300-plus total," Singh said.