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'Jasprit Bumrah didn't do me any favours': England quick's double-edged sword on India 'genius'
England pacer Mark Wood said that despite Jasprit Bumrah's 'genius' he was content playing a limited role with the ball in the first India vs England Test.
There used to be a time in Indian cricket when Jasprit Bumrah hardly played Test cricket in India. In order to ensure he could bowl at full capacity during overseas matches, the team management granted Bumrah rest for games played at home, considering his workload. But today, times have changed. Bumrah, coming off a near career-threatening back stress fracture, turned up for India in the first Test at Hyderabad and bamboozled England with a stunning display of fast bowling picking up 2/28 in the first innings and later bettering it with 4/41 in the second as Indian bowlers struggled to come up with plans to dismiss Ollie Pope.
And still, England quick Mark Wood is not convinced that the Hyderabad surface was friendly enough for pacers. Bumrah bowled 24.4 overs in the match, while his fast-bowling counterpart Wood threw down 17 in the first and eight in the next only to go wicketless. Expressing admiration for Bumrah's skill in making the ball effective even on pitches that offer little to pacers, Wood mentioned that he was satisfied with playing a limited role in the first Test.
Bumrah incredible but…: Wood
"Bumrah didn't do me any favours by bowling like a genius. I'm disappointed that I didn't get any wickets but not really fussed, because the team played amazing. When we were at the ground, Stokes said probably one or two. I thought I may not even open the bowling in the second innings. But it was like, 'one over, that's it'. Very rarely would you think you'd bowl one over and then be off," Wood told ESPNCricinfo.
"But weirdly, I trust what he says. One over? Right, okay, I'll give it everything for this over. And then he said 'rest' and I’m not annoyed. Like, I get it, we're going to spin now. So it's just a bit different"
As it turned out, Wood was right. His services weren't needed as much as Tom Hartley or Joe Root – who even opened the bowling for England in the second innings. The England debutant finished with 7/62 to rock the Indian batting line-up which in a chase of 230, crashed to 202 all out. England's 28-run win not only handed them an early 1-0 lead in the series but also ensured that India remained winless across their last three Tests on home soil.
