But Ravindra, New Zealand’s highest scorer in the competition, was looking in ominous touch. The left-hander had pulled, cut and driven India’s pacers with complete control. Being the final and the nerves that come with it, when runs begin to flow, the minds of the opponents can get clogged.

Signalling the start of the middle overs, Kuldeep came on and struck first ball. He got one to land on that in-between length, and as it deviated in the air and off the surface, and spun back in sharply, the set Ravindra 37 (29b) was helpless as the googly beat the inside edge, struck the pad and then the stumps.

Kuldeep’s first-ball wicket gave India the kick-start they were after. It dealt New Zealand a blow they would have wanted to avoid. In another seven balls, in his next over, Kuldeep tossed one that looped and came slower than anticipated by Kane Williamson. The Kiwi batting star lost the battle in flight, and the wrist-spinner gleefully accepted a return catch. New Zealand were shell-shocked to lose two of their main batters. Williamson was gone on 11. In no time, India had taken command of the match.

At 75/3, it wasn’t a dire situation for New Zealand, but to lose two of their best players of spin who were expected to control the middle overs, it was a huge setback.

For Kuldeep, most of his wickets in the tournament before the final had come in the death overs. It was odd that India’s most successful middle-overs spinner wasn’t as effective in the Champions Trophy where pitches assisted spin, making scoring difficult. The master of guile, one of the few exponents of the left-arm wrist spin in the modern game, corrected that trend in the biggest match of the tournament.

They showed in the broadcast how Kuldeep was jumping higher in the delivery stride compared to the last ODI World Cup. These subtle changes in action are the most difficult to pull off. Only the bowler knows the hard yards that went into it, at net sessions when no one watched, before we see it in matches.

Go back to the previous tweak Kuldeep made to his action, running to the crease in a straighter line than before. That was on physio Ashish Kaushik’s advice that it would help him with less load on his right leg yet help with more pace on his deliveries that he was after. That change came when he returned to action following a knee injury.

This time, Kuldeep has returned to the field after a hernia operation. Every time bowlers undergo surgery, the mechanics of their action require strengthening and repair.

“Sometimes it takes six months to get it right,” Kuldeep said a week back. His leap in delight, punching of the air, and the hugs that followed, and figures of 10-0-40-2 are simply the fruits of labour.