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IND vs SA 3rd T20I: Kuldeep Yadav played a pivotal role in India's mega 106-run triumph over South Africa in the third T20I as he returned with figures of 5-17 in his 2.5 overs spell in Johannesburg on Thursday. The bowler said the conditions favoured spinners and it turned out to be a special day for him as the match-winning performance came on his 29th birthday.

After being asked to bat first, captain Suryakumar Yadav's blistering ton combined with Yashasvi Jaiswal's quickfire 60 guided India to 201/7 in 20 overs. In reply, South Africa were bowled out for 95 in 13.5 overs as Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja shared seven wickets between them while Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar picked one scalp each.

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"It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets. I just wanted the team to win which is more important. I was concerned about my bowling because I was playing after sometime, so wanted to get my rhythm. It was perfect today. The ball was coming out well from the hand and the conditions too suited the spinners a bit," Kuldeep said in the post-match press conference.

"To be very honest, the wickets are very good for the spinners. The good thing about these wickets are that the ball comes very quickly after pitching. So sometimes, you have to vary your variations and if you get it right then it is very difficult to pick," he added.

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Kuldeep last played in South Africa in 2018 but a knee injury in 2021, for which he underwent surgery, halted his career for 6-7 months. However, he successfully returned back to the field with a new technique.

"In 2018, I was very new and after that, couple of years I struggled with my injury and post surgery I came back and made a few changes in my bowling, especially in my run-up. Trying to be more aggressive and just trying to bowl much straighter and focussing on length," Kuldeep said.

Just like his teammates, it took some time for Kuldeep to overcome the loss in the ODI World Cup final to Australia.

"Starting was really difficult. First 7 to 10 days were really tough. Whenever I was waking up, the thought of losing the World Cup final was haunting me. But life changes and moves on. I got an opportunity to play in South Africa, I last played here in 2018 so I knew the conditions well," he said.

"In cricket what you want never happens and you have to learn from them and implement those in future matches."

Captain Suryakumar Yadav's fiery 56-ball 100 laid the platform for India's 201 for 7 in the third T20I, which the Proteas failed to chase down after being dismissed for 95 in 13.5 overs.

"Surya bhai batted brilliantly. The way he was batting was great to watch because the pitch was not that easy for batting. It was really a treat to watch him bat," Kuldeep said.

The tour will now shift to a three-match ODI series starting Sunday in Johannesburg.

(With PTI inputs)

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