Speedster Umesh Yadav feels that England could have scored more than 268 for eight as the wicket did not change much and it was "easy to play spinners" with not much turn on offer.
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Asked if England’s day score was par for the course, Umesh replied: "I think it could have been better as the spinners are not getting enough turn. It’s easy to play spinners. It's okay but they could have got more. The wicket hasn't changed much. Some balls may have gone up and down but I think the pace of the wicket is the same."
Umesh said that bowlers did have some problems once the ball got old.
"It’s a bit difficult when the ball gets old as you won’t get pace and carry with the ball getting soft. But there is still something in the wicket. It’s a bit cold and there’s some moisture in the wicket. The ball is moving."
Umesh, who bowled an unplayable delivery to get rid of Haseeb Hameed in the morning before removing Chris Woakes with the second new ball, said that getting the ball to swing is possible in these conditions.
"It’s not that if the wicket is flat, the new ball won’t swing. If you have the belief, you can swing the new ball. Me and Shami knew that we can swing it till the ball remains new. We were trying to bowl outside the off-stump channel from where we were bowling the outswingers as there was good carry and pace off the pitch."
While he has only seven wickets from five England innings (including this one), Umesh has bowled some great deliveries. He attributes it to the discipline of channel bowling having understood that pace comes with its disadvantages.
"I am improving day-by-day with more matches that I am playing. I talk to my coaches Anil bhai (Kumble) and Sanjay bhai (Bangar). Pace comes with a disadvantage. If you don’t pitch it right, you will go for runs. They advise me to bowl in one particular area. My impact area is outside the off-stump from where I can bowl my outswingers and make the batsmen play a lot more."
A lot is made out of toss being a big factor in Indian conditions but the Vidarbha lad said that planning and execution is as important as getting lucky with the coin.
"Normally, toss is a factor but it also depends on how you bowl, planning and execution by bowlers and fielders is as important as winning the toss."
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dropped a couple of catches off Shami but Umesh dismissed those errors.
"In cricket, it happens. Teammates will take brilliant catches and drop some easy ones. It’s part and parcel of the game. You can’t be disappointed as you have to try and create more chances. In cricket, you can’t grab every catch that comes your way. We have some of the best fielders in our side and it happens with all teams."
