Jasprit Bumrah.
Credit: PTI Photo
Melbourne: Jasprit Bumrah’s telling influence on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series was epitomised by an interesting sequence culminating in Mitchell Starc’s run-out during the 59th over on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test. The match, which swung wildly like the proverbial pendulum, appeared to respond to Bumrah’s will and tactical brilliance. His mere presence on the field became the fulcrum around which the game turned, underlining his role in shaping the series’ narrative.
Even when he wasn’t taking wickets, his mere presence on the field seemed to create opportunities. Aware of the threat he posed, a well-set Pat Cummins was determined to shield Mitchell Starc from facing Bumrah too often. This led him to decline a tight but possible second run after Starc had guided the ball to mid-wicket. Starc, however, had already committed to the run, covering more than half the pitch. Rishabh Pant, quick to seize the moment, collected the ball and unleashed a pinpoint throw, hitting the stumps directly to catch Starc short of his crease.
Before Starc's dismissal, Bumrah had claimed four Aussie wickets, leaving the home team in absolute shambles. While the 31-year master craftsman sent Sam Konstas early in Australia's second innings, rattling his stumps with a wicket incoming delivery, his more destructive act was to come in his short but impactful third spell.
"Jasprit Bumrah's bowling every game has been pretty good," said Marnus Labuschagne, who has had a torrid time facing the Indian spearhead. "He is just relentless. He just bowls a relentless length. He attacks the stumps with that perpendicular angle with his action. And yeah, he's tough to navigate. Obviously, as a batter, when you start your innings, it becomes difficult to start your innings. So, finding a way to navigate that and navigate through his spells is important."
Credit should also go to Rohit Sharma for his astute captaincy. For the first time in the series, the Indian skipper seemed to have a grip of things. Using Bumrah in short bursts, he created both fear and opportunities in Australian batters who had no answer to the tough questions he posed them.
Rohit brought back Bumrah for the third spell the moment Travis Head came to the crease. As if on cue, he had the left-hander caught at midwicket bowling from round the wicket. In the same over, he had walking-wicket Mitchell Marsh with a nasty climber that the batter could only glove to Rishabh Pant. Bumrah wasn't done yet though. He then had Alex Carey's stumps rearranged with another screamer that sneaked through the gate.
In a spell that read 3-1-4-3, Bumrah had once again bamboozled the Australians like few visiting bowlers have. Amid his heroics, Bumrah also achieved a significant personal milestone -- claiming his 200th Test wicket by dismissing Head. He reached the landmark in record-breaking fashion, conceding only 3912 runs, the fewest by any bowler to achieve the feat. Additionally, Bumrah became the fourth-fastest in terms of balls bowled (8484), trailing only Waqar Younis, Dale Steyn, and Kagiso Rabada.
Bumrah’s brilliance was complemented by Mohammed Siraj’s spirited bowling (3/66), which kept the Australian batters under pressure before their lower-middle and tail wrested back the control.