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Rise of the underdog; Has Umesh Yadav transformed into India's premier fast-bowler?

Umesh Yadav tormented Australia on Day 1 of the Melbourne test and finished with figures of 2 for 69.

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2011...Melbourne Cricket Ground...Day 3

As a festive atmosphere reigns over the MCG, with a capacity crowd bristling in anticipation, David Warner and Ed Cowan have walked in to bat, eager to extend Australia's slim first innings lead of 51 over India.

Both batsmen look in fine knick, thanks to fiesty knocks on Day one, and a quick chat in the middle gives out impression that the duo are men on a mission, ready to stonewall India's pace barrage.

As Warner takes guard, MS Dhoni tosses the ball to Umesh Yadav, who is playing only the third test match of his career.

Warner holds a bullish gait, in a bid to intimidate the 'rookie', and as Yadav runs in...little does the Australian know that it is just a calm before the storm!


Australia get mugged...Yadav bursts into the limelight!

Eleven overs have passed, and as umpire Ian Gould tries to reassemble the stumps which lie disarrayed, Shaun Marsh has made his way back to the pavillion, with Yadav and India beaming in delight.

Australia have been reduced to 24 for 3, and Yadav has accounted for all three wickets in a breathtaking spell of fast-bowling.

Warner, Cowan and Marsh have been dispatched off with consummate ease, and as Yadav chugs back to his bowling marker, the MCG falls in hushed silence, wondering as to when was the last time that Australia had to bear the brunt of such high class fast bowling.

If Warner and Marsh hacked on to outgoing deliveries which disturbed their furniture, Cowan shouldered arms to a probing delivery which zipped in at the last moment, thus leaving him helplessly plumb.

Suddenly a red mist hangs over the MCG crowd, who are left in awe of India's latest pace bowling sensation, and as Michael Clarke swiftly jogs in to join Ricky Ponting at the crease...'rookie' Yadav has just come of age!


The answer to India's pace-bowling woes?

Though Australia did stave off Yadav's early onslaught and later went on to thump India by a 122-run margin, that match brought to fore the Nagpur pacer's burgeoning ability.

Apart from Zaheer Khan in recent years, India have not boasted of a single pacer who could harangue opposition with such raw pace, and in Yadav they had probably found an answer to their fast-bowling dilemma.

Yadav finished with 14-wickets in that watershed series (which India lost 4-0) and made his name as a high-calibre pacer, who could give them early breakthroughs.


Umesh Yadav has slowly made his mark as a fast-bowler of breathtaking ability (getty images)

 

Even in the ongoing Melbourne test, Yadav looked to have rolled back the clock, when he proved to be Warner's nemesis, dismissing the hard-hitter for a duck.

Yadav finished with figures of 2 for 69 on Day one, and as things stand, the stage is set for him to have a go at the stuttering Australian batting once more.

While it may be too premature to predict Yadav as a permanent replacement for Zaheer Khan, still the first day proceedings at Melbourne have proved that the 27-year old knows his craft inside out, and has the arsenal to trouble the best in the business  

With time and age on his side, it won't be a surprise if the ever smiling lad from Vidharba does carve out a name as India's premier fast-bowler, thanks to his searing pace and control.

And of course there also remains the small business of Yadav knocking out the Aussies...come Day two at Melbourne!

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