IND vs AUS 3rd Test: Umesh Yadav becomes fifth Indian fast bowler to pick 100 Test wickets in India
Umesh Yadav joined an elite club of Indian fast bowlers to attain a milestone in red-ball cricket on the second day of the ongoing third Test between India and Australia at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
Umesh, who replaced Mohammed Shami in the third Test to play his first match of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, snared three wickets for 12 runs from five overs to restrict Australia's first innings lead to 88.
Umesh and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wreaked havoc in the Australian camp as the visitors slumped from 186/4 to 197/10 in the first session of Day 2.
Umesh trapped a good-looking Cameron Green for leg-before-wicket on 21 in the 72nd over. While angling around the wicket, Umesh rattled the off-stump of his pace-bowling counterpart Mitchell Starc and similar treatment was given to Todd Murphy.
With the dismissal of Starc, Umesh claimed his 100th Test wicket in India and thus became the fifth fastest bowler from the country to achieve the milestone in Test cricket.
Former Indian captain Kapil Dev leads the charts in picking the most wickets (219) by a fast bowler in India. Kapil is followed by Javagal Srinath (108), Zaheer Khan (104) and Ishant Sharma (104).
Indian conditions are often deemed to assist spin bowlers at the utmost level and for a fast bowler to claim more than 100 Test scalps on such surfaces is a huge accomplishment.
Umesh has now picked up 237 wickets in 107 Test innings for India at an average of 29.74, with 6/88 versus the West Indies in 2018 remaining as career-best figures.
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What a ball that was from Umesh Yadav as he cleans up Mitchell Starc to grab his 100th Test wicket at home.
#INDvAUS https://t.co/AD0NIUbkGB
Umesh is not a regular member of India playing XI in Tests
Umesh has fallen out of favor in the Indian pace attack in recent years. The Nagpur-born player has played just nine Tests for India, excluding the ongoing Indore Test against Australia, since 2020.
He was benched for the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, with India preferring Shami and Mohammed Siraj as their frontline pacers.
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The 35-year-old has also represented the country in 75 One-Day Internationals and nine T20Is. He was called back in India's T20I squad for the home series against Australia and South Africa ahead of the T20 World Cup last year. However, his presence was limited to just a couple of matches.