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India lost momentum because wicket offered no assistance: Umesh

December 17, 2016 21:10 IST

'I think it is very difficult to bowl on this track'

India pacer Umesh Yadav speaks at a press conference in Chennai on Saturday

IMAGE: India pacer Umesh Yadav speaks at a press conference in Chennai on Saturday. Photograph: BCCI

India’s speedster Umesh Yadav admitted that there is not much help for the bowlers from the Chepauk Stadium track and there could only be a result if some significant turn is on offer from the third day.

England scored 477 in their first innings with significant contribution from the lower-order as there was very little on offer for both pacers as well as spinners.

"I think it is very difficult to bowl on this track because ball is not turning that much. It is a little bit different. They got some quick runs but I think the ball is not turning a lot. That is the problem, we could not get wickets and lost momentum," Umesh did not seem to happy with the quality of the track on offer.

Asked if a result could be achieved on such a track, the Vidarbha fast bowler said it will depend if there is sufficient turn on offer from fourth day.

"There are three more days. Let's see how the wicket behaves. If it turns after the third day, I think there will still be some interest left in the game."

Asked what took the team so long to bounce out Moeen Ali, who has had perennial problems against short ball, Umesh said: "This plan is already there. Yesterday, the fast bowlers didn't bowl that much. Today, we made a plan that we will bowl short to Moeen and make sure he plays all the balls. We wanted to bowl to his left shoulder and after that we got the momentum as he tried to pull some balls."

Umesh said that bowling alongside with Ishant has been a plus because of former's experience of over 70 plus Test matches.

"I think he is a very senior bowler. He has a lot of experience. Whenever we are thinking about the wickets or thinking how to get wickets on these kind of tracks so Ishant and I keep talking, he has a lot of experience playing 70-plus Test matches," said Umesh.

"I think it is a very positive sign. He just came back and he's bowling very easily. It just helps a lot, whenever your senior bowler is bowling with you. You get that confidence. And he can gauge the nature of the pitch very quickly, what we have to do on this wicket. If he bowls just two balls, then he will know if there will be reverse on this wicket."

Umesh said that not having a proper bowling coach is not a problem with the presence of Anil Kumble and Sanjay Bangar, who was a medium pacer during his playing days.

"Actually, I think at this stage it doesn't matter that much but still we need coaches, who can help us during the bad times or bad sessions. I think Anil Bhai and Sanjay Bangar are there. They know about bowling. Sanjay Bangar was a medium-pacer, he bowled a lot in his time. He gives idea on how to bowl on these type of wickets as he has played a lot of first-class matches. Whenever we are not doing well, we just talk to Anil bhai or Sanjay bhai, they can help us any time or in any situation."

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