Jasprit Bumrah once again showed why he’s the world’s premier fast bowler, delivering a sensational five-wicket haul to dismantle England’s first innings despite being let down repeatedly by his teammates on the field. Bumrah finished with figures of 5/83, a performance dripping with quality and control, in sharp contrast to the rest of India’s pace attack. England eventually folded for 465, falling just six short of India’s total of 471, but the narrow lead was only possible because of one man.
On Day 2, Bumrah operated like a lone warrior. He removed Zak Crawley in the very first over of England’s reply, setting the tone with a perfect delivery. But while Bumrah struck at regular intervals, India’s other seamers, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, struggled with control and consistency. England’s batters, especially Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, pounced on anything loose, piling pressure back on India.
Bumrah, undeterred, dismissed Joe Root with a peach, but without pressure from the other end, his brilliance was diluted.
To make matters worse, Bumrah endured a horror run with the slip cordon. On Day 2 alone, two chances were grassed off his bowling, all straightforward, all costly. A third drop came on the third day’s afternoon, again off his bowling, again shelled by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had earlier undergone a solo slip-catching session in that exact position.
With every miss, Bumrah’s reactions grew more restrained, burying his face or staring into the void, but never letting it show in the ball he delivered next. Every time captain Shubman Gill turned to him, Bumrah responded with sharp spells that demanded wickets.
Day 3 finally brought relief in terms of contribution from other bowlers, though. Prasidh Krishna chipped in with three wickets and Siraj grabbed two, but England’s lower order kept resisting. Near Tea, with the tail still wagging, Gill handed the ball back to his most trusted weapon.
Bumrah delivered instantly, breaching Chris Woakes’ defence in his very first over of the new spell, before cleaning up Josh Tongue to complete his 14th five-wicket haul in Tests. He looked up to the sky and made a quiet gesture, and his teammates rushed to him.
Equals Kapil Dev
With his 12th five-wicket haul away from home, Jasprit Bumrah equalled the legendary Kapil Dev for most five-for by an Indian in away matches. Here’s the list (away Tests):
- 12 Jasprit Bumrah (34) *
- 12 Kapil Dev (66)
- 9 Ishant Sharma (63)
- 8 Zaheer Khan (54)
- 7 Irfan Pathan (15)
