Cricket Xtra: How Umesh Yadav flies under the radar

Ajit Vijaykumar 16:31 13/02/2017
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  • Cranking it up: Umesh bowled a fiery spell against Shakib Al Hasan in the Hyderabad Test.

    Umesh Yadav has never taken more than 16 wickets in Tests in any calendar year. Since his debut in 2011, his Test appearances have not been too impressive – 3, 6, 2, 6 and 9 – and his returns have been far from spectacular.

    But over the last five years, Umesh has always been there. Running in hard and bowling his heart out, sometimes on very unresponsive wickets. With the injury to Mohammed Shami, India lost the services of arguably their most talented fast bowler since Zaheer Khan.

    Shami has the ability to bowl at high pace while getting movement in the air and off the pitch, with the old and new ball. That’s a hard skill to master.

    But just as he was getting on top of his game, a serious knee injury a couple of seasons ago pegged him back and the quick is now battling to stitch together a consistent set of games for India.

    So suddenly, Umesh has more responsibility on his shoulders. For a long time, he was bowling in the shadows of Zaheer and Ishant Sharma, bowling quick but without a lot of control or bite.

    The swing was always there, so was the pace but it never combined to form a compelling package. Also, there were hand and back injuries. But things started to fall in place by the end of 2015, especially during the Delhi Test against South Africa.

    In that match, the South Africans were intent on blocking their way to a draw. They were scoring at about one run an over and looked good to earn a draw. But Umesh ran through the lower order, using reverse swing and the crease perfectly to signal his coming of age as a quick bowler.

    No longer was he the bowler who would hurl the same ball over after over. In the final innings of that Delhi Test, Umesh ended up with figures of 3-9 from 21 overs.

    Since then, the Vidarbha quick has mastered the art of providing the breakthroughs at the right moment, while maintain pressure when he is unable to do so. His spell against Shakib Al Hasan in the one-off Test in Hyderabad was a perfect example of that.

    Bowling from over and round the wicket at the beginning of day three, the 29-year-old opened up the premier Bangladesh batsman on numerous occasions and the all-rounder later admitted it was one of the best spells of bowling he has ever faced.

    For some time, it was though Umesh hadn’t quite mastered the art of fast bowling. While he always had the ability to hurry the batsmen, a pacer needs to have a lot of tricks up his sleeve. And it’s only now, as he is nearing 30, that Umesh is beginning to realise his full potential.

    India batting coach Sanjay Bangar too believes it’s the efforts of players like Umesh that has helped sustain India’s winning run in the long home season.

    Bangar said: “The reason for many of our Test victories is not only the contribution of spinners, but the small contributions the fast bowlers have made.That’s why someone like Umesh stands out because I believe he’s the most improved bowler in the last season-and-a-half.”

    With uncertainty over the long-term future of Shami, Umesh is likely to be the bowler India will rely more upon across formats. And he looks ready to take on the mantle.

    IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE

    Usman Khawaja

    Usman Khawaja

    Australia underwent an intense training session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Sunday. It was their final session in the UAE ahead of travelling to India today for their four Test series, and all players aimed to have one good hit before the real challenge begins at the end of this month.

    There must be a few worried members in the team management looking at the way their batting lynchpin Usman Khawaja fared against his own spinners, especially Nathan Lyon.

    As Khawaja padded up against Lyon, the focus was getting the technique right when the team faces Ravi Ashwin on dry surfaces. But the result was not what Khawaja or the management would have wanted.

    For a major part of the session, Khawaja struggled to put bat to ball and regularly edged the ball behind or missed it.

    Steven Smith, on the other hand, looked a lot more in control against Lyon and Steve O’Keefe, which is not a surprise since he is one of the finest players of spin in the team.

    However, if the Australians want to have any hopes of challenging the Indians in their backyard, they need to come up with a better strategy than what Khawaja displayed yesterday. Because let’s not forget, Australia’s batting order is filled with left-handed batsmen and Ashwin must be desperate to have a go at them.

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