After challenging England tour, I worked hard, says Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav, who spun a web around Australia with his figures of 3-71 on day three of the fourth Test, on Saturday said following the challenging tour of England last year, he worked hard on his bowling techniques.

"I am still learning every day. England tour was challenging for me when I played (0-44 in the second Test) at the Lords. After that I really worked hard on my bowling with my coach. For a spinner, it is important to stick with the basics of spin bowling, give the ball a little bit flight and turn the ball. In a perfect area deceiving the batsman in the air is more important thing for me and I am still working on that," Yadav told in a post-match press-conference.

Considering his fellow countrymen Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the best spinners, Yadav said both of them helped him to stay motivated when he was not picked for first three Tests against Australia.

"We have got Ashwin and Jadeja, who are the best spinners and you are the third one so there is a lot to get motivated from them. They are the one who keep pushing me at nets, telling me to bowl... in certain areas... So I was very motivated by them and it is very important to learn from them as they have played enough cricket and I am still learning," he said.

Yadav, who believes that nothing has changed in his bowling, also said that he was "a bit nervous" as he is playing the first Test of the series. "Bowling on the second or third day is the best time for any spinner. I got the opportunity to bowl good, produce on good area and in line because it gives you variation, you can control," he acknowledged.

Talking about the Indian fielding, Yadav further said, "I feel we are the best right now when it comes to fielding."

"We have got the best fielding coach with whom we are really working on slip catching, short-leg, silly point. I think every player should give 15-20 minutes in practice session to focus on fielding. We are still learning and hopefully we can improve day by day and still manage everything. Catching is something really important in Test cricket if you take catches and stop batsmen then that is the best," he stated.

"The more you will play with the red ball, the better you will become. The more you will play Test cricket, the more you can read a batsman. You get enough time in the Test format to plan for a batsman as you can bowl more overs, change field positions," he added.

Pat Cummins (25*) and Peter Handscomb (28*) were holding the crease for Australia, before bad light ended the day's play early, owing to dark clouds that hovered around the stadium. At stumps, Australia posted 236 for the loss of six wickets inside 84 overs. The hosts are trailing by 386 runs with just four wickets left in hand.

-ANI