Umesh Yadav may be your unassuming boy next door kind of cricketer, but when he bowls, he can definitely take you by surprise. And today, against Bangladesh, he displayed the kind of fast bowling that will make any legendary pacer proud.?
AFP
The Vidarbha bowler who is playing his 27th Test was at his best today, making the ball move both ways. On a third day track at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Yadav got the ball to reverse and kept the batsmen guessing.
He had dismissed opener Soumya Sarkar with a ball that was 142kmph before the end of play yesterday and today he got rid of another left-hander Mominul Haque LBW. Earlier today, Umesh's strong arm from the outfield came into play as he effected a run out of dangerous Tamim Iqbal for 24.
PTI
Yadav's primary skill as a fast bowler is to swing the ball and at a brisk pace. He can easily hit speeds of over 140-kmph and today he swung the ball at that speed, bamboozling Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah in the 6-over spell before lunch.
In his first spell, his gave away just 5 runs in 3 overs and kept things tight. However, he got his groove when he changed ends in the 23rd over and got the ball to talk. Bangladeshi batsmen had no option but to hit expansive strokes but Kohli kept faith in Yadav as he was generating good pace. One ball from Yadav to Shakib from round the wicket hit the deck and moved away towards the shiny side of the seam, giving proof of the reverse swing and the left-hander would've done well to put his bat on that ball.
AP
With two wickets to his name at lunch on Day 3, Yadav will continue to be a threat. His good showing against Bangladesh augers well for Indian team ahead of the challenging series against Australia that starts on February 23.