Jasprit Bumrah continues to hog the limelight in Indian cricket. In the latest exhibition of speed and skill and the knack to get the breakthroughs, take a clutch of wickets and skittle out opponents, Bumrah played havoc on the Sri Lankan batters in the pink-ball day and night Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
He was all fire and brimstone defending a modest total of 252 posted by India in the first innings. He dismissed half the Sri Lankan side and then gave a roaring start in the second innings taking two wickets before wrapping up his spectacular undertaking removing the rival captain and century maker, Dimuth Karunaratne with a beauty.
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Playing his third pink-ball Test and the second one at home, Bumrah turned out to be the central cohesive element in the home team’s telling win by 238 runs. It was only his fourth home Test having donned the flannels in twenty-five Test matches abroad.
The strapping fast bowler with an unconventional and somewhat cumbersome action sent down ten overs in the first innings and took 5 for 24 and nine overs in the second innings and took 3 for 23; he was not lucky enough to win the man of the match award from the jury which chose Shreyas Iyer for carving a splendid 92 in the first innings and a half century in the second.
Bumrah has played his part in twelve victories before, ten of which have come in overseas and helpful conditions. He was part of the team that won the Test matches against England at Ahmedabad and against Sri Lanka at Mohali, but it was at Bangalore where thousands turned up at the turnstiles for three days, he delivered the goods with an eight wicket tally.
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The speedster has the habit of downplaying his performance with the ball, and it was not different after his five-wicket spell on the second day of the Test second and final Test. “It feels good (to take wickets). You always want to play all the games as much as possible, but when you play all the three formats, you have to look after your body. Sometimes you miss out. This was the time that I got an opportunity and was able to contribute towards the team’s success. It’s always a great feeling. So I’m no different now; I am very happy that I was able to contribute. And will continue that,’’ Bumrah said reflecting on his splendid burst in the first innings.
In recent times Bumrah has been selectively played in white ball competitions. He did not play the series against the West Indies, but India fielded him in the T20Is against Sri Lanka at Lucknow and in one match at Dharamsala. Taking into consideration his workload India has fielded him when conditions are favourable to keep the fast bowler going for a number of spells.
Giving his insight (from the batter’s point of view) into the pitch at the Chinnaswamy that helped the Sri Lankan spinners, he said: Obviously you always play in different conditions. Not every pitch will be same. So if you score runs on such a pitch, you get a lot of confidence. So whenever there is a challenge, you’re always looking forward to that challenge and test yourself. Nobody is complaining about the pitch and everybody is finding ways to contribute because they know that when they score good runs on a tough wicket, then that will give them a lot of confidence. And when you score on a relatively flat wicket that will leave you in good stead.’
Bumrah has now been playing Test cricket for four years, since January 2018. He has been in the vanguard of the Indian new ball attack, receiving great support from Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj. He has been exceptional and adapted to the conditions — pitch and weather-wise — in Australia, England and South Africa. His record speaks for itself. He took 48 wickets in 2018, 14 each in 2019 and 2020, 30 in 2021, and he has taken 17 wickets in 2022. He averages under 23 conceding 2.65 runs and over.
Indian cricket has been blessed with some great fast bowlers and Bumrah has all the qualities to be categorised as one in a very short career. India’s first great fast bowlers were Mahammad Nissar and Amar Singh Ladha. They took 53 wickets in the 1930s, playing together 13 Tests. Nissar and Ladha shook the England team in India’s first Test played at Lord’s taking ten wickets. Thereafter, there have been quite a few like Ramakant `Tiny’ Desai who took 74 wickets in 28 Tests from 1959 to 68.
It was Kapil Dev who began the onset of quality fast and medium pace bowlers and over a period of time India’s cricket fans saw such wonderful fast bowlers like Karsan Ghavri, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Irfan Pathan and S. Sreesanth turning out to be successful in Test cricket. In the last four years Bumrah has turned out to be a real force teaming up with Mohammed Shami.
India is not scheduled to play many Test matches this year; its next Test is against England at Edgbaston from July 1 to 5. The focus was on Bumrah in the two Test series against Sri Lanka; the spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin took control of the proceedings in the Mohali Test, but Bumrah came into his own with a scintillating display in the second Test at Bengaluru and the local spectators enjoyed the thrill provided by him seeing him in action for the first time in a Test match at the Chinnaswamy.
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