5 reasons why the Mohammed Shami-Umesh Yadav pair is the most potent new-ball attack for India

The Indian spinners are hogging all the limelight in the ongoing Test series against England and why wouldn’t they? They are delivering every time on pitches nowhere close to dustbowls and have now given the hosts a 2-0 lead in the series. But there are two unsung heroes for the team as well whose performances though not as brilliant as that of a Ravichandran Ashwin has helped propelled their side to this commanding position.

Here, I am talking about India’s pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav who have been relentless in their efforts of picking English wickets. Though it has been tough going at times on flat Indian pitches, the duo has bowled with a lot of heart and used their wit to fox rival batsmen.

While Shami has bagged 10 wickets so far, Umesh has grabbed 5. In this piece, we list five reasons why the Shami-Umesh pair is the most potent new ball attack for India.

#1They are both accurate and clock great speeds

Gone are the times when Indian fast-bowler struggled to reach the 130 kmph mark and started off by bowling a loosner. Both Shami and Umesh are right on the mark from the word go. And guess what? They quite easily break the 140 kmph barrier, sometimes hitting the 150 mark.

At that speed, it is easy to stray in line and length but the pair seldom has such problems. Both bowlers have very easy action and are quite skiddy of the surface and therefore surprise a lot of batters with the pace and bounce they generate. Umesh especially has a tendency of hitting the bat hard and pushing batsmen onto their back foot. Shami, on the other hand, loves the batsmen coming forward to him.

#2 They have a lot of variety

Shami can bowl change ups at will

During England’s second innings in the Mohali Test, Umesh Yadav decided to bowl an off cutter to Joe Root in his very first over. The delivery even surprised commentator Sanjay Manjrekar who blurted out,” You don’t see that too often from a first bowler. Bowling a cutter in his very first over.”

Now, what was Umesh thinking? We really don’t know but he was courageous enough to try it. His partner in crime Shami too has an enviable repertoire of change ups.

Back of the hand slower ball, slower ball bouncers, cutters he has quite mastered them all. These change ups are always an extra advantage on slow Indian pitches and no wonder these two have been successful.

#3 The reverse swing

Umesh and Shami does use the old ball well

They might not be the Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis duo who were the greatest exponents of swing bowling but they are improving with each passing day. Clear now why Virat Kohli tries so hard to keep one side of the ball shiny? In the past few months, Shami has been excellent in reverse swinging the ball and dismissing the best in the business.

In the second match of the series Joe Root was brilliantly set up by Shami. He bowled a few outgoing deliveries and then brought one back in to trap Root right in front of the stumps.

What was different about the delivery was that Shami was hiding it in his hands while running in so that Root would not know which way the shiny side was.

#4 There is always an element of surprise from these two pacers

Both pacers are extremely witty bowlers

Seldom will you see Shami and Umesh running in and bowling without using their brains. It happens to a lot of bowlers especially in Test matches when there is nothing happening for a period of time. But both Umesh and Shami always has these elements of surprise for the batsmen. The duo used the bouncer sparingly but effectively against the England batters and reaped rich rewards for it.

In the third Test at Mohali, Umesh first grabbed the wicket of Haseeb Hameed in the first innings with a short pitched delivery and then it was Shami who picked up Moeen Ali with another bouncer. In the second innings too Shami pocketed Ali with another short one. Also, both bowlers have the ability to make the ball jump and swing from the good length spot a trick which is very difficult to master.

#5 Their Never-Give-Up attitude

Often it’s Shami who sets the field for himself after discussing with Kohli

There were a lot of times in the series when the pair could not get a single wicket in a session but that did not bog them down. They bowled with all their heart every time Kohli would throw them the red leather and would sometimes come up with outstanding spells on such flat tracks. Also, none both of them like to make things happen out there in the middle rather than waiting for it to prosper.

You would often see Shami discussing with Kohli about the exact field placements he needs. Now when was the last time you saw a short leg being positioned constantly for a fast bowler in Test matches?