India, June 29 -- In his first bowl in Test cricket, in Dharamsala in March 2017, Kuldeep Yadav broke the final, decisive Test of a four-match series wide open. Opting to bat, Australia had reached 144 for one when the left-arm wrist-spinner bounded in for his fourth over. The first ball was a flipper that bounced a little extra from an indeterminate length that David Warner poked at from his crease. The resultant outside edge lobbed to slip, where stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane pouched a sitter.

Kuldeep was to reveal later that the flipper was a 'gift' from Shane Warne. Before the Test, then India head coach Anil Kumble facilitated a meeting between Kuldeep and the master; Kuldeep revelled in using the Aussie legend's advice to undermi...