Bowling short was part of our plan, says Umesh Yadav

Pacer Umesh Yadav today conceded that the Indian bowlers have gone awry with their plans, sending down too many short balls that allowed the Australian tailenders to stage a comeback and pile up an imposing 505 in the second cricket Test.

The hosts had been reduced to 247 for six before they recovered to reach 505, taking a 97-run first-innings lead over India.

“In the morning session, we were in a good position. But after that we started leaking runs. Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc got runs and they had a good partnership with Steve Smith. I feel we conceded 50 runs more than we should  have,” Yadav told reporters at the end of third day’s play.

Elaborating on how India’s plans went haywire, Yadav said, “In the morning session, the ball had gone soft and we thought we will stick to line and length. We did that and got two wickets too. But when the tailenders came, we thought we will bowl bouncers because of some difficulty they had against the bouncers.

“On Australian wickets if there is bounce then fast bowlers tend to bowl short balls and bouncers. We just did that. There is no point saying we bowled too many short balls. At one stage, it was too much you can say. But that was our plan and we worked on that,” he explained.

Both Johnson (88) and Starc (52) hit fifties as they helped Smith put on important partnerships after Brad Haddin got out. Yadav admitted that India’s plans to rattle the tail-enders, especially Johnson, didn’t work as they got a little too aggressive.

“Sometimes you get a little bit aggressive. Sometimes it can be right and sometimes it can be wrong. Sometimes batsmen score runs in that aggressive phase and sometimes it can be effective and you end up picking wickets.

“It normally happens when a new batsman comes in and we try to make him uncomfortable. Obviously, they tried to hit back and connected a few, so it evened out,” said Yadav. India reached 71 for one at close of play and the deficit has been cut to 26 runs.

“It is only third day so the wicket is a little bit slow. But there is something for the bowlers still. We will have to bat well tomorrow and see what kind of lead we can take. We have to bat the whole day at least, or try to, and then depending on the condition of the pitch, we can see how the game shapes up,” he said.

PTI