Umesh Yadav had an entertaining knock in the first innings of India’s low-scoring Test match against Australia. Umesh’s pinch-hitting even made Virat Kohli smile when the tailender assisted Rohit Sharma and Co. in reaching three figures at Indore’s Holkar Cricket Stadium. However, Umesh failed to demonstrate his batting prowess in the second innings, as veteran spinner Nathan Lyon dismissed him for a duck.
Umesh revealed to reporters after the day’s play whether he received a message from skipper Rohit about attacking the Australian bowlers.
“Usually humey to koi aisa message nahi mila. Jab mein batting mein gya tha to aisa kuch nahi tha because mera kaam tha run bananey ka. (We didn’t get any message to attack when I went in to bat. My job was to score runs on this tough wicket). It is difficult to get runs here. I feel, rather than defending and getting out eventually, it is better to go for shots on a wicket like this. Even if I would have scored 10-20 runs, that would have pushed the lead to 90. That is more important for me,” Umesh told reporters.
Umesh attempted a slog sweep against Lyon in the 57th over, but the tailender failed to clear the boundary. Cameron Green of Australia, who was stationed at deep midwicket, took a sharp catch to dismiss the Indian batter. Lyon completed his eight-wicket haul after Umesh’s departure by dismissing Mohammed Siraj as India were bowled out for 163 (60.3 overs) in the second innings at Indore.
