On a Pune track where spinners were supposed to thrive but did not, Umesh Yadav bowled with purpose and skill to deny Australia from having what would have otherwise been a dream day
Sidharth Monga in Pune23-Feb-2017Pandurang Salgaoncar, the raw fast bowler from Maharashtra and now the curator at the MCA Stadium in Pune, once broke Sunil Gavaskar’s hand and made him miss a Test. Gavaskar used to say Salgaoncar’s first spell used to be some of the toughest bowling you could face in India. When the IPL came to Pune in 2012, Gavaskar met Salgaoncar again and told him that another bowler from the interior parts of Maharashtra reminded him of Salgaoncar.The man Gavaskar spoke about was Umesh Yadav, from Khaparkheda, a town an hour outside Nagpur, known for its thermal power station. Salgaoncar told Gavaskar, “Don’t let him become another Salgaoncar.”Salgaoncar never played for India. He will take that grudge against Indian cricket to his grave. He will forever be bitter about India’s attitude towards fast bowlers compared to batsmen and spinners. On his Test “debut”, as a curator, Salgaoncar might have found himself torn. He would have wanted to give Umesh something to work with, but that could make the opposition fast bowlers dangerous. India have stopped asking for rank turners, but there has to be some home advantage, and it is up to the curator to ensure that.It is understood that the pitch was not meant to be such a big turner, but pitch-making is not an exact science. Sometimes, it can go wrong and take on extremes. The Pune heat didn’t help matters either. However, any home advantage is likely to push Umesh towards becoming another Salgaoncar. It is the lot of fast bowlers in India – a bit like fingerspinners in Australia – to soldier on in unhelpful conditions. They become so used to bowling on pitches with no assistance for them that they often don’t know what to do when they travel overseas. At home, they play second fiddle, doing all the dirty work after the spinners have had a fair go.Umesh is used to doing that dirty job. He last took a five-for – his only five-for – in Australia in 2011-12, but that doesn’t show in the way he runs in. His is not the run of a cynical man. He is one of the best fast-bowling athletes India has ever produced, and he glides in, knowing fully well he will have to do what Australian spinners do at home.At times now, fast bowlers in India aren’t even required to take the shine off the new ball before spinners can get into the act. Umesh had to wait for 27 overs before he got his hand on the ball, after India lost a crucial toss in Pune. He was the last man India went to. They had failed to take a wicket in those 27 overs. Australia were showing great resolve; they had swallowed their ego and were happy to buckle down as opposed to playing just the “positive” and “natural” way.Umesh came on when it should have been the easiest to bat, after all the main threats had been tired out a little. This was going to be the half hour before lunch when Australia would have wanted to cash in. Umesh charged in, not thinking wickets, but with a plan. Go round the wicket and cramp David Warner up, and bowl full to get reverse. A played-on is not the most comprehensive dismissal of all, but the plan was there and Umesh bowled to it.Umesh Yadav was skiddy and achieved reverse swing with pace on a surface where spinners were expected to thrive•AFPThe pitches in India might not encourage the quicks, but it helps that the attitude of the leadership has changed. Even on turning tracks, India have strived to take the fast bowlers along. They have been given more responsibility. They have also been given more rewards by being brought back on when there are easy wickets on offer. They have been made to feel more important by the management. The awareness of fitness is much better than in earlier generations.”Fast bowling is an aspect that the team wants to develop,” Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar said. “We have the quality of fast bowling. Very rarely have you seen Indian bowlers who are capable of bowling 140-plus and hit consistent areas. It’s not only the two who are on show in this game, but even Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar], he can bowl at 138-140. [Mohammed] Shami, who is recuperating, hits 140-plus. And some other bowlers who are coming up the ladder are capable of it. So the long-term vision is that the fast bowlers will take up wicket-taking roles when they go abroad, and the spinners will do the job that the fast bowlers are doing in Indian conditions.”The fast bowlers have responded well. If Umesh was not trusted by the captain earlier, it was because he was wayward. A lot of fitness and technical work has gone into the fast bowlers. “He has improved his balance at the crease,” Bangar said. “His stride has got a bit shorter. He has improved his wrist position. Since his lengths are far fuller, he is able to extract that reverse swing. He has worked very hard on his bowling and results are for everybody to see.”All through the long home run, beginning with the series against South Africa late in 2015, Umesh has had to stay in the background. He has averaged 35, which is an improvement on his career average, but he has been content to cut the runs down (economy of 2.86 in this period as against 3.68 overall) and strike just the crucial blow and leave it up to the spinners. However, in Pune, at the home of Salgaoncar, Umesh stood up when the spinners didn’t have the best of days. He was skiddy, he was quick, he reversed the ball, and he did so in every spell. Take out his 4 for 32 and Australia have dream figures of 224 for 5 on a pitch tailor-made for spinners. This one is not becoming another Salgaoncar.
