Barely twenty minutes before Tea on Day 2 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Umesh Yadav bowled a fullish delivery outside Dean Elgar’s off stump. Delivered at over 140 kmph, the ball slants across Elgar, drawing him forward to play a tentative prod. The Proteas opener gets comprehensively beaten by the pace and late reverse swing. He survives, but only just. It was the 15th over of South Africa’s innings, and Yadav was already getting the ball to reverse, much like how Morne Morkel had done against the hosts in the previous Test match in Nagpur. Yadav then follows it up with another full delivery, which is quicker and moves away sharply off the seam. Elgar, who is caught in no-man’s land, nicks it to wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha. Just against the run of play, the burly speedster had given India a crucial breakthrough and broken through the stubborn defences of the Proteas openers. Elgar was dismissed for 17, and the visitors were 1/36 in pursuit of India’s first innings score of 334. Elgar’s wicket is the perfect illustration of how well Yadav had bowled in the afternoon session at the Kotla. He was quick, hitting speeds in excess of 140 kmph mark with relative ease. With that pace, he was also getting the ball to reverse. In the end, as Elgar found out, it proved to be a lethal mix. In the past, Yadav has been critical of not bowling consistent lines and lengths. That was not the case today, as he hit the straps from the start and mixed his lengths quite beautifully to keep both openers in check. Yadav persisted with a fullish length outside the off stump to Elgar, while against right-handed Bavuma, he dug it in short. It was clear that Yadav had a well chalked-out plan against both the openers. In the half hour leading to the tea interval, Yadav’s figures read: 4-1-8-1. He was not done yet. He would come back for another 4-over burst in the final session, where he continued to torment the Proteas middle order with sustained pace and accuracy. An hour into the final session, Umesh bowls perhaps the perfect delivery in his three spells. Bowling from around the wicket to JP Duminy, Yadav gets one to land on the good length spot. The ball does not not come back in, but holds it line. Expecting the ball to deviate, Duminy plays down the wrong line and gets his off stump uprooted. Yadav finished the day with figures of 12-3-32-2. He didn’t run through the opposition, but he was Virat Kohli’s impact bowler today. Using him in short bursts of 4-over spells, Yadav got two crucial breakthroughs to pin down the visitors. He later conceded that he loved the challenge of bowling in short bursts and said his only focus was in providing crucial breakthroughs for his side. “When I am given the ball for a short spell, I know I have to put in all my energy in those 4 overs and get my captain a wicket. The rhythm in my action is such that I can easily bowl 140-plus, and I enjoy being the strike bowler for my side.” he told BCCI.TV at the end of the day’s play. This has been a strange season for Umesh Yadav. Having been in and out of the national squad, he had failed to make an impact in Mohali or the two Tests against Sri Lanka. This helped him return to domestic cricket, where he managed to find form with both bat and ball. Playing for Vidarbha, he stroked an unbeaten century against Odisha. He then followed it up with a hat-trick against Rajasthan. Yadav admits his return to Ranji cricket helped him rethink his strategies, and in turn also motivated him to improve as a cricketer. “If you really want to grow as a bowler, you need to play domestic cricket on tracks that are not conducive to fast bowling. When you bowl on such wickets, it makes you think as a bowler. You are forced to devise a strategy for every batsman. You also realise that you cannot bowl every ball at the same spot, and you need to alter your pace and length to fox the batsmen,” he told BCCI.TV. A Ranji stint seems to have done wonders to Yadav’s confidence. A refreshed Umesh Yadav is just what Kohli needs in the long and gruelling season ahead.
