Umesh Yadav - a home fast-bowling behemoth like no other
Umesh Yadav has endured a stop-start international career. He has played more than 50 Test matches and has featured in 75 ODIs. Yet, it has never seemed like he had a place in the side nailed down, and that he was the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack.
Much of it was not down to him. His finest hours in Test cricket, which is basically the last few years, have coincided with the rise of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami. Mohammed Siraj has also burst onto the scene and that, coupled with Ishant Sharma’s resurgence in the late 2010s, meant that Umesh has not gotten as many opportunities as his numbers warrant.
So, whenever talking about Umesh, long after he would have hung up his boots, there will be an asterisk attached. One thing, though, that will be devoid of any asterisks is his record at home – a record that he only bettered on a manic day in Indore.
Even before a ball had been bowled on day two, it had become clear that spinners would dominate. The ball had spun square on the opening day, and with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the line-up, India did not really have to think about many different alternatives.
But they found themselves in a bit of trouble when Cameron Green set out his stall. He used his reach to get fully forward and used the depth of the crease to negotiate whatever the spinners had to throw at him. What he perhaps did not come prepared for, however, is a rampant Umesh spell – a spell that broke the back of Australia’s first innings and gave India a glimmer of hope.
If, for some reason, you think this is one of the glorious aberrations Umesh has always seemed capable of, well, you’d be wrong. This is, in fact, just the continuation of his dominance in India, and the more you look at his statistics, the more impressive they become.
Umesh Yadav has more than 100 Test wickets at home
As things stand, only five Indian pacers have taken more than 100 Test wickets at home, with those being Kapil Dev, Ishant Sharma, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Umesh. Among those, Umesh has the best average (24.53) and the best strike rate (46.1). None of the others average less than 25 or strike at less than 50 balls per wicket. That alone tells you how Umesh sits in a league of his own, especially when talking about fast-bowlers in India.
Since the start of 2018, Umesh averages 15.09 in Tests in India, having picked up 43 wickets in 19 innings. He also strikes every 27.8 balls. No Indian pacer, including the likes of Bumrah, Ishant, Shami and Siraj, fares better on these parameters during this period than the Vidarbha fast bowler.
One thing that makes him very successful on these shores is that he does not give the stumps away. Of the 101 wickets he has taken, 51 have either been bowled or lbw. That is a very high percentage for a fast bowler, considering they usually try making the most of the slip cordon. It also illustrates that he has greater control when the ball is not doing as much, and has that ability to produce a moment of magic when everything seems mundane.
ICYMI - 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 in India for @y_umesh 💪
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
Mitchell Starc found that out the hard way at Indore. Prior to his dismissal, the ball had not reversed enough to cause trepidation in the Australian camp. The India pacer, however, got the ball to shape away just a tad from around the wicket, sending the off stump cartwheeling. And, to almost prove that this was not a fluke, he meted out similar treatment to Todd Murphy - another left-handed batter.
Green, on the other hand, was caught on the crease as Umesh got a ball to straighten off the surface. The all-rounder, looking to access the leg side, was trapped in front and was adjudged lbw.
These wickets allowed India to trigger a collapse, wherein the visitors lost six wickets for 11 runs. In the context of the game, that might not be very relevant because India produced a gargantuan collapse of their own in the second innings. From Umesh’s perspective, though, it was another illustration that he remains arguably India’s best pacer in these conditions.
In a world where fandom is reduced to a toxic routine of one-upmanship, Umesh Yadav is the athlete you will genuinely feel happy for
#INDvAUS
But still, for some reason, he does not quite get the credit he is due. The numbers back it up, and those who watched his spell at Indore would testify. Don't forget what he has had to overcome just to get here. He was plucked out of relative obscurity and bowled quick in India when it was not as fashionable as it is today. He leaked runs, became a source of countless memes but still found a way to be so successful in conditions that are not supposed to aid fast bowlers.
So, he must be doing something right. And maybe the time is right to thoroughly marvel at his genius, especially in Tests in India, and realize that what he has done for such a long period, might not be easy to rival.
No asterisks involved this time, you’d presume!