"I knew he would hit me across the line" - Umesh Yadav on dismissing Mayank Agarwal in sensational spell vs PBKS
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast bowler Umesh Yadav continues to impress in the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He has been the biggest redemption story so far in IPL 2022. After managing only two games in the last two seasons and going unsold in the first round of the IPL 2022 mega auction, Umesh Yadav has proven that he is far from over.
With skipper Shreyas Iyer and head coach Brendon McCullum showing trust in Umesh Yadav's experience, the Vidarbha-born has shown the he can still light up the 22 yards.
Umesh Yadav was not picked in initial auction rounds
And today he is one of the leading wicket takers of IPL.
Moral : Trust yourself, even when no one else does. #KKRvsPBKS
After two superlative outings in the last two games, Umesh was on song once again on Friday. He dismissed Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Mayank Agarwal in the first over to put KKR on top.
Throwing light on the dismissal, the 34-year-old pacer admitted that he was taken aback by Mayank's approach. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Umesh Yadav said:
"I was surprised that Agarwal charged at me the very first delivery, I knew, I have seen him play in the nets, I knew he would hit me across the line and I'm glad I was able to pitch it on the dot."
The veteran pacer also picked up the prized wicket of Shikhar Dhawan before returning with a double-wicket maiden in the 15th over, dismissing Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar.
Umesh finished with figures of 4/23 in his four overs at an economy of 5.80 runs per over, including a maiden. With this, he now has eight scalps under his belt, the most by a bowler in the competition.
"One thing that'll make you better is practice" - Umesh Yadav
.@y_umesh played just 2 games in last 2 seasons in the IPL. And even with the Indian team he only gets a game when someone's injured or rested. But such is his attitude that you never see him complain. Warms my heart to see him do well. One of the good guys. #KKRvPBKS #IPL2022 https://t.co/MFDwiNgJWr
The India international has looked fitter than ever since the start of IPL 2022. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer recently revealed that Umesh Yadav has been sweating out in training and has not missed a single session as of now.
Validating his captain's words, Umesh stated that one needs to put in hard yards to be relevant in a format like T20. He said:
"I work hard because that's the kind of competitive cricket's been happening around the world. With age, you need to push yourself, there's one thing that'll make you better is practice, the more I bowl is better for me. In the nets, I plan to execute the deliveries that I want to bowl in the match."
He concluded:
"I try hard, whatever, wherever I've practiced, I just hope the lines and lengths are right, I hit the right lengths as much as possible, otherwise it doesn't make sense about the pace you bring in that delivery."
Umesh, who is currently the Purple Cap holder, will hope to continue the superlative run in the upcoming games as KKR chase their third IPL title.