Umesh proves a point with fiery show at home
Not given enough chances overseas, pacer’s 10wicket haul may force a rethink Down Under
HYDERABAD: As India get ready for their series Down Under with another strong performance at home, Umesh Yadav has once again thrown his hat in the midst of fast bowlers who could feature in Adelaide, venue of the first of four Tests, beginning Dec 6.
With Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma certain for the playing XI after their solid show in South Africa and England, Umesh is now challenging Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the third pacer’s slot, presuming that Hardik Pandya, who suffered a lower back injury in Asia Cup, would be match-fit.
The odds were stacked heavily against Umesh Yadav ahead of the second Test between India and West Indies here. He was not in the XI in any of the three Tests against South Africa despite travelling there on the back of a stupendous show in India’s home season. He played throughout India’s home run in 2016-17 as well as a three-Test series in Sri Lanka, bagging 45 wickets in 18 Tests in not so favourable conditions. He was picked for the first Test in England and then left out of the remaining four.
Back home against West Indies, when most top bowlers were rested, Umesh got a chance. But just one wicket in the first Test in Rajkot had further pushed the odds against him. The fact that his pace-bowling partner here, Shardul Thakur was out injured within the first half-anhour of the Test, meant India needed a Herculean effort from the 30-year-old Vidarbha pacer.
And that he did. With a matchhaul of 10/133, he twice got India back in the match and helped them to a 10-wicket victory with two days to spare. During the match he was on a hat-trick twice. Not just that, he became the first pacer to bag a fifer at this venue when he returned with figures of 6/88 in the first innings.
On a wicket that did not offer much movement, Umesh bowled
› I am looking ahead. I don’t want to dwell on matches that I have missed. I should try and perform well in matches I will be playing.
UMESH YADAV, India bowler
a persistent line. With a length just short of good, he found a spot from where the odd ball was keeping low and clocking consistently over 145kph, he managed to instil doubt in the batsmen’s minds.
When he was on a hat-trick for the second time in the match, he had rattled the stumps of first-innings centurion Roston Chase on the last ball of the 25th over and then did the same to Shane Dowrich on the first ball of the 27th. On both occasions, the ball nipped back slightly after pitching outside off and slipped in after
hitting both the pad and bat. The best thing was he made the batsmen play at most of his deliveries.
With the 10-wicket match haul, he became the third pacer to get wickets in double figures in Tests in India after Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath. Kapil got the hauls against Pakistan and West Indies in Chennai and Ahmedabad in 1980 and 1983 respectively, and Srinath bagged a 10-for in Kolkata in 1999 against Pakistan.
Currently among Indian bowlers to have picked at least 15 wickets this year, Umesh has the best strike-rate of 29.9. In four Tests this year, Umesh has picked 18 wickets at an average of 16.05. The next India pacer featuring on that list is Ishant Sharma who has a strike-rate of 46.4. “I am looking ahead. I don’t want to dwell on matches that I have missed. My thinking is that I should try and perform well in matches I will be playing. If I keep brooding over the past, then I won’t be able to focus on the future,” Umesh said.