A Bumrah-sized 'Head'ache

Adelaide: After a humbling loss in the Perth Test, a leading Australian newspaper commented, "Bumrah is living inside Marnus Labuschagne's head." It was as much a tribute to Jasprit Bumrah's fear-inducing skills as it was a castigation of Labuschagne's inadequacies against the Indian pace spearhead. 

During his miserable 52-ball two in the first innings, the once-prolific right-hander was like a cat on a hot tin roof against Bumrah, taking multiple painful blows on the body and remaining largely clueless. Come to think of it, not many Australian batters can say they are comfortable against the current World No.1 bowler.

Except, perhaps, Travis Head who has been India's biggest headache in the last few years, though Bumrah has a better head to head record in Tests. He was the primary reason India lost two marquee finals -- WTC final in 2023 and the 50-over World Cup the same year.

In Perth, too, he was the only Australian top-order batter who withstood Bumrah's barrage before falling to him after a defiant 89. Bumrah was pumped, screaming out an "yesss" and pumping his fists while staring at the batter. Virat Kohli did the same.

Bumrah wasn't out of the line, but, unlike Kohli, it was an unusual celebration from him - at once reflecting India's frustration at Head and the importance of his wicket.

For all their hard-nosed approach, Aussies appreciate those who can successfully challenge their dominance. They adored Sachin Tendulkar until the fallout of Monkey-Gate. It took some time, but eventually they warmed up to Kohli who always walked the talk against them. Their latest piece of obsession is Bumrah. 

He has become the bench-mark to judge their quality of batting -- from Test aspirants and established stars. 

“Bumrah is a skilful player, obviously, and probably the best in the world," said uncapped Sam Konstas after hitting a century against a Bumrah-less Indian attack for PM's XI in the pink-ball practice game in Canberra on Sunday.  "Hopefully, one day I can face him and see how we go. I feel confident (about my game). I’ve been training really hard and it’s a great opportunity to play against the best players.” 

Coming on the back of an impressive knock in an otherwise shoddy Australian second innings, Head sounded confident about tackling the Bumrah threat.

"I'm best when I look for the cues, when I'm just preparing to watch the ball hard and staying fresh mentally," Head said on Monday. "I think I'm lucky that I've faced him a few times and come across him a fair bit. So I just go back over recent times, and times I've faced him. We've been very fortunate to have played him a lot so I know what's coming, it's just making sure I'm prepared and fresh to start well," he offered.

Head may have done well against India overall, but his record against Bumrah in Australia is less than impressive. Since the 2018-19 series, he has scored only 67 runs against Bumrah while being dismissed three times. He has faced, in all, 159 balls from the 30-year-old with a whopping 122 of them being dot balls. In fact, these are the numbers after his 89 in the Perth Test.     

So what chances do other batters stand then? 

"They're not coming to me for batting tips, that's for sure," Head remarked in jest. "Everyone goes about it in different ways. We're all supporting each other and we'll have a chat over the next three or four days. But he is so unique, and that's with any of the bowlers really. Every guy picks up different cues and goes about in different ways," he noted. 

And what about Marnus? "Not spoken to Marnus, (but) knowing Marnus, (he) would have worked hard in the nets."

Whether Aussies quell the Bumrah threat or not, it's clear few overseas pacers have left Aussies in such awe and admiration as the Indian quick has.