Tristan Stubbs had little idea that Kuldeep Yadav’s best delivery of the day would come off the first ball of a new spell and the South African admitted that his Delhi Capitals teammate made him dance to his tune despite having faced him many times in the nets.
Stubbs had hit Kuldeep for a couple of sixes and was one short of half-ton when the spinner tossed one up and it drifted in the air and started deviating after pitching.
Stubbs literally moved his hands towards the ball without any foot movement, resulting in a regulation catch for KL Rahul at first slip.
“I have faced him quite a few times. This was the first ball of his new spell and I think the best one he has bowled,” Stubbs, who scored 49 off 113 balls, said at the end of the day’s play.
When asked if he wanted to steer it past the slips for a single, the batter explained his dismissal and gave Kuldeep full credit for setting him up.
A crucial moment! Stubbs edges one and Rahul completes a sharp catch at slip. Kuldeep delivers when it matters! 🔥#INDvSA 2nd Test LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/FonCjBDbFl pic.twitter.com/5tRcj32SF0
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 22, 2025
“From my angle, it sort of beat me in the drift, that’s sort of why my hands got away, so I think that’s how he got me out.
“It was just the drift and my hands sort of following it, so it’s probably on a day one wicket, that’s probably how he’s trying to get you out, but for him to bowl that first ball of his, coming back, I thought it was quite impressive,” Stubbs couldn’t stop gushing about the delivery.
In fact, Kuldeep did pull Stubbs’ leg in the middle about the batter’s constant complaints that the India star doesn’t bowl at him enough at the Delhi nets.
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“We’ve always chirped each other that he hasn’t often bowled to me, and then today he walked past and he said, ‘You can’t say I don’t bowl to you anymore’.
“But I have faced him enough. I have sort of played with him, so you get the feel. If I had to think about him before the series, on a good wicket, how would he get you out, it’s probably what he’s done there, just like I think with the drift, angling and sort of no spin.”
Not easy to be shifted up and down batting order
A specialist middle-order batter, Stubbs was promoted to No. 3 by head coach Shukri Conrad and he felt that more than technical, the mental adjustment was necessary.
“It’s not the easiest thing moving around but whatever the coach asks, I’m just happy to be in the team. I have worked a lot on my defence as I had been a white ball player.
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“….and then being asked to go about at number three, so I grafted hard on the defence and because I find that at number three, you can afford to be a little bit more defensive,” said Stubbs, who played 113 balls on the day.
“The change is not so much technical, but I think more mental, probably tightening your game plan, especially if it’s doing a bit up front and maybe checking your scoring options.”
Better wicket for survival
After the degree of difficulty faced by batters in Kolkata, everyone is of the opinion that Barsapara is a better track for surviving although it is not one where a batter can play free-flowing strokes.
“I definitely think it’s a better wicket for batting. You can bat time, but you look up and the scoreboard’s sort of gone nowhere.
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“I do think they bowl quite well, the seamers especially, just kept bowling straight lines, attack the stumps, and they sort of bowled to contain.
“So I think they bowl nicely, but all of us had opportunities, and if you look in it, no one kicked on, so we can take that blame on ourselves,” he added.
