The veteran Indian pacers, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami bowled in tandem at some fierce pace and helped India bundle out South Africa for 162 and 133 in reply to their first innings total of 497/9 and win the third Test by an inning and 202 runs on Tuesday. India won the three-match Test series 3-0 to register a record 11th consecutive Test series win at home.
Umesh, who took 11 wickets in two Tests, called India’s victory “Diwali Dhamaka” ahead of the festival, which will be celebrated on Sunday. He and Shami were speaking in an informal chat with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. In a video on BCCI.tv, Saha asked Umesh, “Diwali is around the corner. Did you light firecrackers before coming here to play?”
WATCH: @Wriddhipops turns anchor 🎙️🎙️ in Ranchi to discuss @y_umesh's & @MdShami11's heroics – by @RajalArora
For full interview click 👉👉https://t.co/TyUOM5urGw pic.twitter.com/LykU5xREeX
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 22, 2019
Replying to the question, Umesh replied: “Aisa socha nahi tha par socha tha Diwali dhamaka ho jayega Diwali se pehle toh maza aayega. (I thought it would be great if could celebrate Diwali little early with a win). I played a match after a long time and the captain gave me all the freedom to make the most of it. It felt as if I was playing tennis-ball cricket after a long time.”
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On the other hand, Shami claimed 13 wickets in three Tests against South Africa, including a five-wicket haul in the first Test in Vizag.
Shami said, “We used to struggle while batting in overseas conditions. The last three bowlers couldn’t bat much. The culture that is building up, like how Umesh Yadav batted at the tail end, it entertains the spectators. In last two years, we have seen how pacers can also make batsmen dance to their tunes on spinner-friendly pitches in India.”
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Apart from impressive bowling, the duo grabbed a lot of eyeballs with some hard-hitting to take India close to 500 in Ranchi. While Umesh smashed five sixes in his 10-ball 31, Shami was unbeaten on 10, with a single maximum before India declared their innings on Day 2. Yadav broke quite a few records with his hard-hitting skills.
