WTC Final 2023 | How Has Umesh Yadav Performed At The Oval?

image-lijg1u4cUmesh Yadav in training ahead  of WTC final (Twitter)

Umesh Yadav made his Test debut way back in 2011 and was touted as the next 'big thing' because of his raw pace and ability to rattle opponents. However, the story for the boy from Nagpur has not been all rosy and Umesh has seen lot of ups and down in his 12-year long Test career. 

Umesh Yadav has been often criticised in his career for not being consistent enough in his lines and lengths but he has improved by leaps and bounds from 2017-18 under the leadership of Virat Kohli. He is one of India's premier bowler now and might take the place of the third seamer in the all-important World Test Championship (WTC) Final.

So, let us now see Umesh Yadav's record at the Oval in Test cricket -

Test played by Umesh Yadav at the Oval

Umesh Yadav has played only one Test at the Oval and it came on India's last tour to England in 2021. It was a historic Test match which India won by 157 runs and Umesh played a big part in the win by picking 6 wickets in the Test match.

He picked three wickets in each innings and delivered an excellent spell in the first innings where he knocked over Joe Root and then got the better of well-set Dawid Malan to press the panic button in England's dressing room. 

Umesh Yadav vs Australia

Umesh Yadav has played 16 Test matches against Australia and has picked 51 wickets which includes a fifier at an average of 37.58. However, those performances have been in Australia and India and English conditions might just bring the best out of Umesh Yadav in this final.

Umesh Yadav in England

Umesh Yadav has played just 2 Test matches in England and has picked 9 wickets. The first Test he played in England was at Birmingham in 2018. Umesh picked just 3 wickets but he got rid of set batters in both the innings with wickets of Bairstow and Sam Curran who were batting on 70 and 63 respectively. This same quality was evident when he played at the Oval in 2021 and that is what makes him a special bowler.

How will Umesh Yadav perform in the WTC Final?

As mentioned above, Umesh has the ability to get rid of big players and has the knack of producing some unplayable deliveries (Joe Root's wicket in the 2021 Oval Test). He has a natural outswinger, which can be very lethal in English conditions. His problem though is his inconsistency with lines and lengths but that too has improved in the last few years and we can expect Umesh Yadav to step up and deliver against the mighty Aussies in this big game.