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Jasprit Bumrah, lone warrior in IND's Border-Gavaskar series, completes greatest show by an Indian seamer in Tests

Jan 06, 2025 02:06 PM IST

Jasprit Bumrah's performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy slots in at the top of the finest series every played by an Indian seam bowler.

For a country which has a long history of relying on batting greats and basing the success of the team on whether or not runs would be put on the board, India had access to a player who carried the hopes and dreams of the team with ball in hand. Jasprit Bumrah was no less than sensational throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, taking 32 wickets and rightfully winning the player of the series award for his excellence in a tour that would have been extremely one-sided without him.

India's Jasprit Bumrah celebrates a successful caught-behind appeal, dismissing Australia's Marnus Labuschagne on day two of the fifth Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground(AFP)
India's Jasprit Bumrah celebrates a successful caught-behind appeal, dismissing Australia's Marnus Labuschagne on day two of the fifth Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground(AFP)

Bumrah’s form, quality, and effectiveness is something India have never really seen before from a pace bowler from the country, leading many to wonder even during the series whether this was the best an Indian seam bowler had ever performed in any Test series for the nation.

The numbers do indicate that to be the case: across 5 matches, Bumrah took 32 wickets, comfortably leading the charts across both teams. The only other occasion of an Indian seamer taking more than 30 wickets in a single series came all the way back in 1979-80, when Kapil Dev led the charts with 32 scalps against Pakistan in a home series. Dev, however, played six matches on that occasion, while Bumrah only bowled in nine innings.

Bumrah’s average during the series, moreover, was on a planet of its own. At 13.06, only one Indian pacer has taken 20 wickets in one series at a better average, Irfan Pathan across two matches against Zimbabwe in 2005. While that was a commendable effort, Australia is unquestionably a different animal, and for Bumrah to put up numbers such as these against some of the best players in the world, across the rigour of a five-match series, just goes to show how unplayable he was at times in this series.

An all-format, all-phase wicket-taker

For India, it is usually spinners who do the trick by dominating opposition batters, home and away alike. Usually Ravichandran Ashwin played that talismanic role over the decade of India’s dominance and success, but with the off-spinner announcing his retirement, Bumrah stepped into his shoes in remarkable fashion to lead the bowling attack.

With the new ball, or coming on to break a partnership, or asked to make mincemeat of Australia’s lower-middle batting, Bumrah was firing on all cylinders and in all game situations, and consistently throughout the series. Most remarkable was the respect and admiration even opposition fans had for Bumrah, recognising they were witnessing something special in a bowler who could singlehandedly turn the tide of a match with a flurry of wickets in one quick spell.

Indian pacers have enjoyed famous spells and innings in the past in Australia and elsewhere overseas, but to do it again and again in the space of a few weeks, every single time the team needed it, indicated that Bumrah was providing something special.

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