Umesh Yadav: Tweaking my grip helped immensely

Umesh Yadav

Kolkata: Attributing his recent success to a tweaked bowling grip, India speedster Umesh Yadav said it has helped him achieve better control and more consistency in delivering out-swingers. Yadav finished with match figures of 8/81, which included a five-wicket haul in the second innings, to set up India's innings and 46-run win in their first ever day-night Test against Bangladesh on Sunday. "Tweaking my bowling grip helped immensely," Yadav said during a conversation with India opener Rohit Sharma on 'bcci.tv'.

"My grip was different earlier so one or two balls would swing while a couple of them would either get deflected from the legs or run down the leg side for boundaries as byes. So it was difficult to control with this grip. "So I spoke to my coaches and also while discussing within ourselves, I felt when I hold the ball properly, I have more control and chances of moving the ball. So my outswinger became consistent and I could also throw in a few inswingers after making that change."

Fellow pacer Ishant Sharma, who claimed five wickets in Bangladesh's first innings and four in the second, said changing his wrist position helped him create angles which made life difficult for batsmen, especially left-handers. "I created angles in my bowling on the basis of my wrist position. If I come round the wicket to the left-hander, it would be more difficult for the batsman," Ishant said. "Before that, I used to bowl but I couldn't get the edge because it would land on the off stump and would go out. Now, I bowl at the stumps, so it becomes difficult for the batsman."

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