England vs India 2021: As Fast Bowler Wickets Are Important For Me Be It Joe Root Or Ollie Robinson: Umesh Yadav

Indian pacer Umesh Yadav on Friday said that for him every wicket is important for him as a fast bowler.

Umesh, who made his return to the Indian Test side after suffering a calf injury during the MCG Test against Australia in December, bowled brilliantly against England in the first innings of the fourth Test.

As fast bowler wickets are important for me be it Joe Root or Ollie Robinson: Umesh Yadav

On Day 1, Umesh got rid of England captain Joe Root, who has troubled the visitors throughout the series, with a back-of-a-length delivery, that angled in to breach the batsman’s defense.

Umesh said that for him it doesn’t matter who is the batsman, but every wicket he picks is an important one citing the examples of Root or bowling all-rounder Ollie Robinson.

“This is a very common question I face whenever I get a big wicket. As a fast bowler wickets are important for me be it Joe Root or (Ollie) Robinson. So, I think as a fast bowler picking up a wicket is more important be it any player. That is it for me,” Umesh said at a virtual press conference after the end of the second day’s play. 

I thought our performance dipped as we leaked around 40 runs in seven or eight overs: Umesh Yadav

Umesh carried his form to the second day and got the early wickets of overnight batters Craig Overton and Dawid Malan. to reduce the hosts to 62/5 at one stage. After getting those two wickets, England batters Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow aligned forces together to form an 89-run stand between them with all-rounder Chris Woakes slammed 50 in the final stage of the innings to push the total to 290.

Umesh accepted the fact that India bowlers failed to capitalise on England’s situation early in the day and leaked more runs as the hosts made their way back in the game.

“The way we started our bowling – we took two wickets within the first 40 minutes. After that, I thought our performance dipped as we leaked around 40 runs in seven or eight overs. As a result, the batsman also returned to the flow and found a rhythm. With the ball not seaming or spinning, the batsmen will look to assert their authority, “Umesh said.

“We also made mistakes as we failed to keep things tight after those two wickets, conceding too many runs in the middle phase. Otherwise, India came back strongly by understanding how to bowl,” he added.

Umesh has played 49 Tests and after picking Overton’s wicket he completed his 150th Test scalp on Friday.

Also Read: England vs India 2021: Didn’t Expect Umesh Yadav To Be A Little Bit More Effective Than Jasprit Bumrah, Says Michael Holding