MELBOURNE: Jasprit Bumrah stood expressionless when he castled Nathan Lyon off just his fourth delivery on the fifth day. As the ball snuck through the gap between bat and pad, the quick continued with the death stare to Australia’s tail-ender. He had just completed another fifer on Australian soil but there weren’t any wild celebrations as he continued to hold his ground before walking back to the change room.
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India’s vice-captain ended the year on a new high and it had taken hard work at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as he sent down 53.2 overs. This is the most he has bowled in a single Test in his career so far but he wouldn’t be complaining with the nine-wicket match haul against his name. The outing swelled his 2024 wickets tally to 71 and made him the first pacer to cross the 70 mark in 16 years.
No one after the great Curtly Ambrose had managed to pick 30+ wickets in a Test series against Australia in Australia and Bumrah should have atleast one more outing in Sydney to add to his total of 30. Ambrose is the only quick before Bumrah to pick three fifers in a Test series in this part of the world and Bumrah should be mighty proud of getting there. Many greats have come here, troubled batters but no one came close to the great West Indian’s feat in over two decades.
But is there anything which Bumrah can’t do? Perhaps nothing. He has alone carried the team on his shoulders since they arrived on Australian soil in Perth. No real support from the other end? No problem. Different colour of the ball? No problem. Rainy brisbane? No problem. Noisy Melbourne? No problem at all. There have been many great bowlers but not many would come close to doing what Bumrah has managed to pull off during the summer Down Under.
For starters, he has bowled a lot and most of it has happened without any substantial support from the other end. Unlike their opponents, India have struggled to consistently hunt as a bowling group in the series and that feeling of loneliness was visible when the seamer stood with hands on his knees after a tiring fourth day under the harsh sun.
Brought into the attack for the final over, which was captain Rohit Sharma‘s desperate roll of the dice for the umpeteenth time in the series, he did what has been the constant expectation from him – get a wicket. But destiny on occasions has other plans and moments after KL Rahul managed to hold on to the catch with support from his legs, the umpire raised his hand for a no-ball.
The wait for the fifer, more importantly Australia getting bundled out, got a bit longer but Bumrah’s body language after the umpires dislodged the bails was of a tired man who gave it all. In between the animated send-off to Sam Konstas, his first wicket, and that feeling of exhaustion after the no-ball was called, Bumrah had bowled 24 overs, picked four wickets and three of them – Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey – came in lightning quick time.
It was the second time in the match that he dismissed Head, India’s biggest nemesis in recent fixtures, and looks nearly unplayable every time he comes on to bowl. Even the opposition is aware about that and it’s not a surprise that his threat is most talked about in their changing room.
Marnus Labuschagne revealed on Sunday how they planned for Bumrah when Pat Cummins came on to bat. The match was delicately placed at that point but Australia knew it was Bumrah or nothing. Like it has been in the series so far. Marnus dealt with that threat and Cummins grew into confidence by facing the others.
Since he wasn’t going to bowl forever, Australia were happy to not give him a wicket during that period and later it allowed them to pile on crucial runs after that shaky start.
It has been a problem throughout the series for India and it’s there where the appreciation continues to grow for Bumrah. The one-man army with the old ball, semi-old ball and the new ball. He remains a gift that keeps on giving and even as cautious chatter around his workload never dies down, it’s a sad fact that India can’t imagine a Test pace attack without Bumrah in it.
