Umesh Yadav had bowled just 2 overs for 4 runs in the first 71 overs India sent down to Australia in their first innings in the Indore Test. However, when he was called up, the speedster struck straightaway, finishing with 3 wickets in a 3-over spell to rout Australia’s lower-order, showing what India missed.
As Rohit Sharma continued to bowl his spinners and the Australian batters played well, Umesh Yadav was rendered merely a spectator.
But when he burst in with the ball in hand, at a time when India were desperate for wickets, the senior paceman proved his worth.
Umesh Yadav has taken 101 wickets at home
He first dismissed the well-set Cameron Green with a close lbw decision which went India’s way – upon being reviewed by Green, it showed Umpire’s call.
Then there was no close appeals; just the sound of Yadav’s ball thudding into the stumps and the stumps cartwheeling.
A proper athlete, Umesh Yadav ripped into the defenses of Mitchell Starc and Todd Murphy from around the wicket angle.
He beat Starc on the outside edge, sending the off-stump for a long ride almost near the wicket-keeper! Murphy tried to cover the line of the ball, but was late in doing so, the off-stump uprooted once again. Umesh Yadav beaming. The Indian fans cheering on top of their voices.
Umesh Yadav has been terrific, and his achievements often understated in home conditions. While the spinners have made the most of the conditions at home, Umesh Yadav over more than a decade has been phenomenal in India.
The 35-year-old has snapped up 101 Test wickets in India at a brilliant average of 24. And since 2019, in 7 Tests, he’s taken 22 wickets at just 15 apiece.
Meanwhile, India fought back with the ball in the second hour of Day 2 in Indore. Green and Handscomb, the overnight pair, kept the bowlers at bay for the first hour, before Ashwin and Umesh forced a collapse from 186/4 to 197 all-out, both the bowlers taking 3 wickets each, adding to Ravindra Jadeja’s 4 wickets from yesterday.
Australia have taken a crucial lead of 88 runs, which is significant on a surface such as this one at the Holkar stadium.
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