Playing regularly for India has helped me improve my line and length, says Umesh

Playing almost all of India's Test matches at home has helped pacer Umesh Yadav improve his line and length also letting him know his strong points and areas to improve.

The Vidarbha pacer who picked up 17 wickets at an average of 23.41 in eight innings in the recently concluded India-Australia series has been the mainstay of India's bowling.

Yadav impressed with control and consistent pace throughout, but particularly in the final Test against Australia at Dharamsala.

On the liveliest of pitches used in the four-Test series, Yadav tormented the tourists to claim five wickets, also hinting that India now have the necessary fast bowling resources to clinch the deal on the hard decks of Australia and South Africa.

For many, including former captain Sourav Ganguly, Yadav was the find of India's long home season.

"This is all due to my hardwork. In the last 8-10 months I am playing continuously (for the Indian team). The more you bowl the better you become," Yadav told reporters on being asked if he was carrying his Dharamsala form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well, where he returned to duty for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with a four-for against Kings XI Punjab to help the purple brigade cruise to a eight-wicket win. "It's like a bowler's line and length is sorted with regular bowling. I think, the number of matches I have played has helped me better my line and length. Now I have come to know my strong points and the areas I need to bowl to," the 29-year old, who used to be wayward before, said.

Narrating an incident of how Team India coaches, especially batting coach Sanjay Bangar has helped him understand the finer nuances of his game, like the run-up, Umesh said: "In the last 10 months, our coaches Sanjay Bangar, Anil (Kumble, chief coach)sir who have a fair amount of idea about bowling have helped me a lot."Sanjay sir had told me that when you run in to bowl, sometimes you run faster than required in order to bowl faster. "Then you risk the chance of disturbing your line and length. You should enjoy you run up which will help you bring control to your bowling."

KKR have six more matches at the Eden Gardens, where Umesh looked to be in sublime form with the ball. The relaid 22-yar strip, the pacer said, was to his liking with a lot of carry and bounce. "The wicket is very good," Umesh, who missed the franchise's first two matches due to right hip and lower back soreness, said.