Jasprit Bumrah came up with another fabulous performance against England in the first Test in Headingley.
At this point, Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t surprise anymore. Whenever he has the ball in his hand, the chances of wickets surge drastically, and he does the job most often.
Former English pacer Steven Finn has labelled Bumrah the most complete bowler ever, highlighting what makes him special in his BBC column. He wrote why Bumrah is so hard to pick, explaining how straight his arm is while delivering and the hyperextension of his elbow, which helps him generate extra pace through his action.
Finn also noted how Bumrah’s release point is ahead of his front foot, cutting the reaction time for the batters, as the ball comes quicker than many anticipate because the distance is less than usual. He was also in awe of how the ace pacer is quick despite not having a short run-up and not being too fluent.
“Imagine watching a fast bowler from side on. You will see most release the ball when their arm is directly above their front foot. Bumrah somehow gets his hand about 40cm ahead of his front foot, cutting the distance between himself and the batter, thus reducing the batter’s reaction time. Bumrah has short, stuttering steps, without any sort of fluency. There is nothing in the approach that suggests he will be capable of bowling with the speed he does.”
When Bumrah began his Test career, several experts, including the legendary Michael Holding, had doubts about whether he could be as successful in red-ball cricket as in the other two formats. But it didn’t take him long to put those doubts aside by acing the longest format right from the start.
He came up with another fabulous performance against England in the first Test in Headingley, snaring five wickets when other bowlers gave little support throughout the innings. He became the first Asian bowler to take 150 wickets in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia), surpassing Wasim Akram’s tally of 146.
Bumrah now has the joint-most five-wicket hauls (12) for India in away Tests, equalling Kapil Dev, who took 108 innings compared to Bumrah’s 64. He has three five-fors in England, the most by any Indian bowler, and might add more in the upcoming matches, given his rhythm.
However, Shubman Gill must be cautious of his workload and not over-bowl him, even if it means a lean patch for the team. He has already done the heavy lifting for his team, and this is just the start of the series, so other bowlers must also step up.
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