Former England batter Paul Collingwood was left speechless by Kuldeep Yadav’s brilliant delivery to remove Jos Buttler in the 2023 World Cup match on Sunday, October 29 in Lucknow. He also noted that India did not give anything up after taking the first wicket and remained persistent throughout.
Buttler was out in the 16th over of the innings when Kuldeep sent up a delivery outside off that spun violently, beating the right-hander on the backfoot and hitting the top of the middle stump. It stunned England’s skipper and put a big damage in their ambitions of reaching 230.
Collingwood had the following to say about England’s bowling performance in an interview with Star Sports:
“And I just thought the ball is once they got England’s first wicket, they just didn’t give them a sniff. After that, I thought about the accuracy, the skill level, that we get movement out of the pitch and then you thought maybe the spinners would come on and maybe they’ll just stick it on, but no cold. Kuldeep comes up with probably the ball of the tournament to Jos Buttler.”
Paul Collingwood
Buttler’s dismissal dropped England to 52-5 in their quest of 230. Later in the innings, Kuldeep took the wicket of Liam Livingstone as the hosts triumphed by 100 runs.
“There’s obviously an amazing atmosphere there” – Paul Collingwood
The 47-year-old also discussed how the home fans rallied behind the team and became their 12th man. He added:
“Yeah, look, it’s it’s kind of wow, isn’t it? When you’re watching it here almost in disbelief of what’s going on and the Indian bowlers say, we’re absolutely relentless, the lines and the length once they got that first wicket and you heard the crowd. And when you can hear the crowd on TV, there’s obviously an amazing atmosphere there, and it’s almost like having the 12th man.”
Paul Collingwood
With five defeats in six games, England are struggling and in last place. They are also at risk of not qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy.