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Sourav Ganguly, Ian Chappell praises Umesh Yadav for his stellar performance in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2016-17

"To see an Australia team on the back foot against fast bowling is a great sign. Umesh Yadav, to me, is the find of the season." - Sourav Ganguly

Umesh Yadav picked up 17 wickets against Australia © IANS
Umesh Yadav picked up 17 wickets against Australia © IANS

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is impressed with the form exhibited by pacer Umesh Yadav in the ongoing Test series against Australia. The pacer from Vidharbha has picked 17 wickets from four Tests, including the three he took in the final match in Dharamsala today. Commenting about the performance of Umesh in the series, Ganguly said, “To see an Australia team on the back foot against fast bowling is a great sign. Umesh, to me, is the find of the season. Hope he carries on the good form with the ball.” The Cricket Association of Bengal, where Ganguly is the president, also praised spinner Kuldeep Yadav on his impressive debut. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Australia, 4th Test at Dharamsala

“Hopefully it’s the beginning of something very good,” said Ganguly to the reporters at the Eden Gardens. According to Ganguly, “He is young. He will learn. Credit should go to (coach Anil) Kumble for giving him an opportunity. End of the day it’s the bowlers who will pick 20 wickets for you to win Test matches.” Ganguly, who is the ambassador for FIFA U17 World Cup in India, is happy to see Kolkata getting the final of the marquee event. “It’s great to see the final being played in Kolkata,” he quipped.

Meanwhile, former Australia captain Ian Chappell today also heaped praise on Umesh and said his fiery pace bowling did the trick for India in the fourth and final Test here. Set a target of 106 to win the match and with it the series, India were 19 for no loss at stumps on day three, needing another 87.

“Umesh Yadav has been a real hero for India, and it’s not just in this Test match, he has done well in the whole series and throughout the whole summer,” Chappell told ESPNcricinfo. He added, “To perform in so many Test matches and to have that sort of fire that he had at the start of Australian second innings, it was almost like he was determined that Australia were going to loose quite a few wickets before they got rid of the arrears. “I thought he did a terrific job. Really the fire of Umesh Yadav that did the trick for India. “The defiant partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha in the first session today, Chappell felt, hit the Australians hard.

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