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

West Indies bowling great Michael Holding was surprised to see Umesh Yadav lead the bowling charts of India ahead of Jasprit Bumrah.

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.

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 Yadav surprise me a little bit: Michael Holding

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. On the other hand, Bumrah didn’t add a single wicket to his tally of two, which he claimed on the first day after getting both the England openers.

Umesh ended his spell with 3/76 with while Bumrah’s figures read 2/67. Holding heaped praise over both the pace bowlers and felt that Umesh was a bit more effective amongst them.

“Yadav surprised me a little bit because I didn’t expect him to be a little bit more effective than Bumrah and I think he did. Bumrah bowled some fantastic deliveries and both of them showed pretty good control,” Holding said on Sky Sports.

Shardul Thakur is not going to get wickets like Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav: Michael Holding

All-rounder Shardul Thakur, who top-scored with 57 for India in the first innings, got his only wicket of Ollie Pope, who was leading England’s charge in their innings. Holding said that Thakur is not a regular wicket-taker and he won’t be much effective on England pitches.

“What disappointed me after the first hour was the fact that they didn’t have anyone to continue the pressure – Thakur came in and bowled but he’s not the type that is going to get wickets like Bumrah and Yadav. There just wasn’t anything there and he’s just not going to be very effective under these conditions.”

India are currently behind 56 runs of England’s first innings lead with the series tied at 1-1.

Also Read: Thanks To Our Captain Virat Kohli And Coach Ravi Shastri, There Is No More Chopping And Changing In The Team: Umesh Yadav