Kuldeep Yadav's wrist-spin masterclass floors West Indies after flying start in Trivandrum ODI

For a good part of the first two hours, India's decision to bowl first in the baking heat of Trivandrum felt like a curious one. Nitish Reddy offered a whole lot of hit-me's in a 17-run opening over, Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna brought bounce but little reward, and Justin Greaves — an ODI first-timer in India — smoothly sized them up, seizing the Powerplay with his back-foot game.

A flying start that had India searching for answers

Greaves and John Campbell hit 13 fours in the first ten overs, rallying together, to borrow a word or two from their team anthem. Reddy did not return until the 28th over. Debutant Naman Dhir, identifying as an all-rounder lately, sent down five overs and caused no harm, while Ravindra Jadeja had another wicketless outing — his sixth in his last seven ODIs.

Some of India's ODI regulars are currently chasing Gold in Japan, leaving behind gaps and backups. But against a tenth-ranked West Indies, it was still supposed to be a soft landing at home for India's second line of bowlers. Instead, by the first drinks break, Greaves and Campbell had put together West Indies' first 100-plus opening stand in India in 24 years.

Shubman Gill's masterstroke: bring on Kuldeep

Shubman Gill hadn't looked towards Kuldeep Yadav until then. For a lineup missing Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep assumes the attacking role in this team, and the idea was probably to let the ball get older, scruffier and more prone to turn. India needed to break the predictability of West Indies' run-scoring — by then, the boundary-hitting spree had already eased, with West Indies exacting just one four between overs 10 and 15.

When Kuldeep first took the ball in the 16th over, he began rather too full to let the pitch cast doubts in minds. Off just his second ball, Campbell pushed an already limping Greaves for a quick single — the visitors wouldn't have wanted him to settle into a comfortable rhythm. In Kuldeep's next over, Campbell ploughed a six over deep mid-wicket, sending the same message. The switch-out from full deliveries had to be a swift act; the next ball darted in quicker, but not fuller.

From there on, Kuldeep's mixology began. He first deprived Campbell of sweeping lengths, leaving him with no scope to pre-meditate that shot — he would either toss and turn it away, or dart it in on length. When he finally sucked Campbell into a sweep, it was a wrong'un he did not read. The top edge gave India a long-awaited breakthrough.

Control over chaos: the Kuldeep blueprint

Slowly but firmly, through Kuldeep's calculated lengths, control started to show in India's bowling. Newly-entered Keacy Carty had no breathing room to match the scoring rates, Greaves couldn't rush around for quick singles, and Kuldeep had cut off the supply of boundaries. Between overs 20 and 30, West Indies collected just 40 runs, essentially looking to see Kuldeep through. Even in an attacking role, it is this control that makes him so hard to substitute.

The numbers underline it: after the first 25 overs, West Indies had drawn only six false shots — five of them off Kuldeep in his first spell of six overs. He briefly left the field, but when he returned, Gill was so eager to use him that the umpires had to remind him of the cooling-off period. It only delayed West Indies' imminent crash-out.

A double-wicket maiden that flipped the innings

The second spell demanded tighter lines, with no fielder in the deep on the off-side, allowing no cushion for strays. By then, Kuldeep had settled into the rhythm he would later speak about. Strangled by line and teased by length, Shai Hope was forced to dance down the track, giving Kuldeep his second wicket. Later, Greaves' grievous sweeping plan was undone by a wrong'un — and the very next ball, teenager Jewel Andrew, facing his first delivery in India, got the hard deal, bamboozled by a ball that turned and kicked off length and took the outside edge. That double-wicket maiden flipped the innings around.

Kuldeep couldn't claim a fifth, resting himself at the boundary after his quota was done — and India's erratic death bowling promptly resumed. It was telling that on a pitch where finger-spinners Jadeja and Dhir went wicketless, the wrist-spinner thrived on only marginal help. West Indies, without wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes, were later carted around by Indian batters on a surface that had eased up even more under lights.

Confidence reclaimed after a year of in-and-outs

It has been a hard year for Kuldeep. The Trivandrum ODI was only his second white-ball game for India in seven months. In the New Zealand ODIs earlier in the year, he was the most expensive of everyone who took more than a wicket in that series; at the T20 World Cup that followed, he played just one game; and more recently he did not get a game in the ODI tour of England, with spin all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar preferred instead.

After the game, Kuldeep admitted that spells like these can bring back the confidence lost by constant in-and-outs.

"It always feels nice when you enjoy your bowling, that's where you achieve your best. You are a bit relaxed as well, then your performance comes at peak. To get that confidence back, you have to have a bowling spell like this," Kuldeep said.

"I was very calm in my rhythm and just trying to bowl whatever I felt like bowling. Just varying the pace, variations were superb, just reading the batters, where they're going to hit me, and yeah, I found very good rhythm," he added.

West Indies' own admission: 'We have to put him under pressure'

Amir Jangoo conceded afterwards that West Indies probably should have gone after Kuldeep a little harder.

"One thing all of us have to do is put him under pressure as well. We cannot allow him to get into his spell, given the kind of start we had. We have to put him under some more pressure and face him slightly differently," Jangoo said.

What next: New Zealand, the World Cup and the bigger picture

It's amazing what an on-song Kuldeep can do, yet it's hard to be him and look at the bigger picture. After the West Indies ODIs, it isn't certain if he will get game time in New Zealand — a place he last bowled in, in 2020. There is the not-so-distant World Cup, where pitches like Paarl and Gqeberha would be conducive to spin. Kuldeep offers the benefits of wrist-spin, but a question mark has always stayed around him. For now, he just wants to stay in a good space.

"I personally feel there's still a chance to improve, and I'm going to stick with the same rhythm: that's the most important thing," he said, before venturing into lighter topics such as his favourite football club Barcelona's continued run at the top of La Liga.

Perhaps, if Kuldeep listens to Spanish popstars too, the popular lyrics would fit him right: "All I need, is the rhythm divine."