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India’s skipper, Jasprit Bumrah led from the front with the ball to get two consecutive wickets to turn the tides in India’s favour.
Jasprit Bumrah struck back-to-back blows to dismiss Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith. (Image: AP)
India’s stand-in skipper, Jasprit Bumrah rolled up his sleeves and helped India put up a breathtaking display to grab back-to-back wickets in the first innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series-opener at Perth on Friday.
Bumrah struck in the fourth delivery of the seventh over where he got rid of Australia’s opening batter, Usman Khawaja on eight runs from 19 balls. The delivery was a tad short of length, angling into the left-hander and the batter nicked it to find Virat Kohli at the slip region.
Despite the wicket, India were wary of the next man up. Australia’s ace, Steve Smith came up but his time on the crease did not last for long as he was dismissed for a golden duck. While Smith as expected was shuffling across the crease, Bumrah had his accuracy on check with a full delivery on the off-stump line, crashing onto the pads, and Smith’s erratic movements cost him his wicket.
After a below-par batting performance by the Bumrah-led side, the skipper took it upon himself to make amends with the ball. By picking up three wickets within the first seven overs of the innings, India will have their tail up, and step up their game with the ball to ensure they keep the Aussies in check.
While Bumrah remains a reliable solution for wickets, as a skipper, he also needs to be practical on the number of overs he bowls to ensure that he does not overwork himself and possibly get injured in the process.
He would have to learn to hand some of the responsibility to his other bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy, if a bowling change is required.
One thing is for certain, neither side will be willing to back down without giving a fight against their opponents, making this series a feisty affair where both teams will be put to the test across the five-match series.
- Location :
Perth, Australia
