India vs West Indies: Umesh Yadav Has Given Us A Selection Headache: Ravi Shastri

India head coach Ravi Shastri hailed Umesh Yadav after the fast-bowler took ten wickets in the second Test against West Indies to help the hosts win the game by 10 wickets.

India suffered a big setback in the very first session of the game.  They lost debutant Shardul Thakur in just the fourth over of the day after the bowler walked off the field with a groin injury. He did not return to the field for the remainder of the game. With just one pacer in the playing eleven, India had a major task in their hands.

However, Umesh Yadav rose to the occasion and did a commendable job to lead India to a comprehensive 10-wicket win. The pacer picked up ten wickets in the game to end the Test with career-best figures

He picked up 6 wickets in the first innings to help India bowl out West Indies for 311. In the second essay, he picked up 4 as India bowled out the visitors for just 127. As a result, the hosts had to chase just 72 runs which they did without breaking any sweat.

The match figures of 10/133 is not only Umesh’s best bowling performance in Test Cricket,  he also became only the third Indian pacer to have picked up 10 wickets in a match. The other two are – Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath.

Speaking at the end of the game, head coach Ravi Shastri lavished praise on him for grabbing the opportunity with both hands, saying:

Lot of positives for us. When we are playing at home it’s easy to get complacent and carried away. When you lose one fast bowler, you have another one who stands up and takes 10 wickets. He (Umesh) sat on the bench for four Tests in England. But he grabbed the opportunity presented to him, so really happy for Umesh. It’s been done only four times (10-wicket haul by Indian pacers at home). Kapil did it, remember Javagal did it once. Umesh has given us a selection headache and I like this headache.