Virat Kohli lauds Prithvi Shaw, Umesh Yadav following India's triumph over West Indies

Sudhir Gupta 19:21 14/10/2018
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  • Prithvi Shaw and Umesh Yadav have been singled out for some fine praise from India skipper Virat Kohli following the team’s 2-0 Test series clean sweep over the West Indies.

    Umesh picked up his maiden 10-wicket match haul in Test cricket on Sunday as India bowled the West Indies out for just 127 runs in their second innings. Then, Prithvi Shaw and KL Rahul chased down the paltry target of 72 runs with considerable ease to complete a 2-0 victory for the hosts.

    Shaw had followed up his debut ton in the first Test at Rajkot with a fine 53-ball 70 in the first innings at Hyderabad.

    The 18-year-old’s maiden series showing was lauded by the India skipper following the crushing win.

    “I don’t think any of us were even 10 percent of what he is at 18-19. The guy has grabbed his chance beautifully. He looks like someone that can get you off to the kind of start that you require, especially to make the first mark in any series that you play. So from that point of view it’s great to have a guy who’s so fearless,” Kohli was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

    Instant impact from the young man. Image - BCCI/Twitter.

    Instant impact from the young man. Image – BCCI/Twitter.

    “And he’s not reckless. He’s very confident about his game. You might feel like he’s going to nick off one now. But he hardly nicks the ball. That we saw in England as well when he was batting in the nets. He was really attacking but in control throughout which is a very rare quality against the new ball. To play so many shots and be in control of all of them is a great sign,” he added.

    Umesh, meanwhile, followed up his 6-88 in the first innings by picking up 4-45 in West Indies’ second dig. His match haul was the third time ever that an Indian pacer had picked up a 10-for on home soil. Taking note of the 30-year-old’s fine showing, Kohli predicted a big role for him to play in the year-end tour of Australia.

    “It’s good to have all guys confident and raring to go because four Tests in Australia can be brutal because the ball doesn’t do much like England. You have to come in and run in all day, bowl in the right areas, with pace,” said Kohli.

    “So I think from that point of view, Umesh is right up there to be featuring in Australia because he’s got the pace. He’s got the fitness levels to run in all day to pick us wickets at crucial times and he gets good bounce as well.”

    The India skipper believes the pace battery at his disposal has been strengthened with Umesh’s excellent show and wants it to be the side’s strength when they undertake major overseas assignments.

    “It’s a great sign, as I said, to have four guys bowling so well who can pick up wickets. That’s something we want to keep as a consistent part of our team. Obviously the batting is something that we’re learning from the last tour we want to improve on collectively,” Kohli stated.

    “But bowling is something we need to keep as a major strength in order for us to feel like we have a chance to win a series when we travel away from home.”

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