DHARAMSALA: Newcomer Kuldeep Yadav on Saturday revealed he had learnt some tricks of the trade from none other than Aussie spin legend Shane Warne, after scripting a memorable debut against Australia in Dharamsala.

The chinaman bowler had his rivals in a spin, taking four wickets for 68 runs to help India bowl out the Aussies for 300 on the opening day of the decisive fourth Test in Dharamsala.

“If you see the first wicket, it was not a chinaman, it was a flipper that I have learnt from Warne,” said the 22-year-old Yadav. “It’s fun to learn it for him and then dismiss batsmen from his own country. Warne is my idol and I have followed him since childhood, even now I watch his videos.

“It was a dream come true when I first met and talked to him [Warne]. I have continued to follow his advice. Now he has promised me to meet again and hold a training session with me.”

Yadav’s show was all the more creditable after he learned he was playing on the morning of the match when it became clear that injured skipper Virat Kohli would have to sit out of the crucial tie.

Yadav, who bowls wrist spin with his left arm, said the chinaman action came naturally to him and he was working on it to make it more effective.

“Chinaman is difficult because not many bowlers do it but it came naturally to me when I started playing cricket.

“It needs a lot of work and training. It’s more or less like that of a leg-spinner, the only difference is of right hand and left hand.”

Australia’s wicket-keeper/batsman Matthew Wade was all praise for the Indian bowler, saying it was not easy to crack his mystery bowling.

“It took a few balls to get used to him. He bowled a lot of different deliveries, he bowled a lot of spinners with a scrambled seam as well,” said Wade, who made 56. “We had a look at everyone before the start of the series. So the boys are on top of what he was going to bowl. But yes, everyone has had a look at his footage. He bowled quite well today.”

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2017