Star Indian pace bowler Umesh Yadav is celebrating his 36th Birthday. The right-arm pace bowler made heads turns in 2010 when he came under the spotlight for his pace bowling.
Making his ODI debut in 2010 during the tri-series in Zimbabwe, Umesh Yadav satiated the need for a genuine pace bowler. In the next eight years, the man from Nagpur went on to play 75 matches for India and claimed 106 ODI wickets. Umesh Yadav last played ODI Cricket for India in the 2018, since then he has been a trusted test bowler.
In this list we take a closer look at the top three performances by Umesh Yadav in ODI Cricket:
1. 4/31 versus Bangladesh – 2015- Melbourne
The match was the quarter-final game of the ODI World Cup 2015 between India and Bangladesh. The Indian team had set the Bangladeshis a target of 303 runs to win. Umesh Yadav got the big wicket of Tamim Iqbal caught well by MS Dhoni for 25. The right-arm fast bowler wasn’t done as he got two huge middle-order wickets from the opposition.
Mushfiqur Rahim was caught behind by Dhoni for 27 just when it seemed the Bangladeshis were fighting back. Rubel Hossain was done in by a bouncer only to be caught by Virat Kohli for a duck.
Sabbir Rahman was the last man to go when he was caught by Shami off Yadav for 30. Umesh Yadav finished with 4/31 his best ODI figures to give India a huge win by 109 runs. This bowling return is still the best in ODI cricket for Umesh Yadav
2. 4/53 versus Sri Lanka -2014-Hyderabad
It was the third ODI between India and Sri Lanka with the India side holding a 2-0 lead. Umesh Yadav began by dismissing Kusal Perera caught by Wriddhiman Saha for 4. The Indian pacer followed it up getting the big wicket of Kumar Sangakkara for a duck.
Virat Kohli then got Umesh Yadav back into the attack at the back end of the innings. Thisara Perera became the third wicket of Umesh Yadav for 1 before Sekkuge Prasanna lost his off stump for 29. Umesh Yadav finished with figures of 4/53 from his ten overs as India won the game by 6 wickets to seal the series.
3. 3/32 versus West Indies -2013 – Port of Spain
India needed a win against the host nation to keep their hopes alive to reach the Tri-Series final. MS Dhoni had to sit out the game due to a niggle and Virat Kohli was appointed the skipper. The then 24-year-old scored an impressive 102 off 83 balls to help India reach 311/7 from their 50 overs.
Rain delayed the start of the West Indian chase as the Caribbean team needed 274 from 39 overs. Umesh Yadav bowled with great control to end the game with figures of 3/32 from his 8 overs. Dwayne Bravo for 14, Dinesh Ramdin for 9 and Darren Sammy for 12 were his scalps on that day.
India went on to win the game by 102 runs as Umesh Yadav played a key role in that momentous win. Team India further went onto cement their place as the number 1 ODI side with a win in the final versus Sri Lanka.
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