5 reasons why the Mohammed Shami-Umesh Yadav pair is the most potent new-ball attack for India
The Indian spinners are hogging all the limelight in the ongoing Test series against England and why wouldn’t they? They are delivering every time on pitches nowhere close to dustbowls and have now given the hosts a 2-0 lead in the series. But there are two unsung heroes for the team as well whose performances though not as brilliant as that of a Ravichandran Ashwin has helped propelled their side to this commanding position.
Here, I am talking about India’s pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav who have been relentless in their efforts of picking English wickets. Though it has been tough going at times on flat Indian pitches, the duo has bowled with a lot of heart and used their wit to fox rival batsmen.
While Shami has bagged 10 wickets so far, Umesh has grabbed 5. In this piece, we list five reasons why the Shami-Umesh pair is the most potent new ball attack for India.
#1They are both accurate and clock great speeds
Gone are the times when Indian fast-bowler struggled to reach the 130 kmph mark and started off by bowling a loosner. Both Shami and Umesh are right on the mark from the word go. And guess what? They quite easily break the 140 kmph barrier, sometimes hitting the 150 mark.
At that speed, it is easy to stray in line and length but the pair seldom has such problems. Both bowlers have very easy action and are quite skiddy of the surface and therefore surprise a lot of batters with the pace and bounce they generate. Umesh especially has a tendency of hitting the bat hard and pushing batsmen onto their back foot. Shami, on the other hand, loves the batsmen coming forward to him.