Jasprit Bumrah (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: India recovered from a shaky start to demolish Australia by 295 runs in the first Test in Perth. Jasprit Bumrah, leading from the front with figures of 3-42 and 5-30, was named Player of the Match as India secured a resounding victory inside four days to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Former England fast bowler Steven Finn heaped praise on Bumrah for his match-winning performance against Australia.
“Jaiswal scored that brilliant 161. But the player that I loved watching and that I think is actually the best player in the world, bar none at the moment, is Jasprit Bumrah. He is just — he’s a joke, honestly. You watch him bowl, and you just think, I’m glad that I don’t have to strap my pads on,” Finn said on TNT Sports during a discussion with former England captain Alastair Cook about India’s dominant display.
“I was surprised that India have gone there (Australia) and hammered Australia in what normally is a very hard place to go and play cricket. Perth, I know it’s not the WACA; I know it’s the new stadium, but still, historically, Australia don’t lose many games there. I thought India was so brave,” Finn added.
Bumrah made history by clinching his seventh five-wicket haul in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries, equaling Kapil Dev’s record for most by an Indian bowler in these conditions.
During the Perth Test, Bumrah delivered a stellar spell, bowling 18 overs and taking five wickets for 30 runs at an economy of 1.67. His scalps included Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Alex Carey, and Australian captain Pat Cummins.
Bumrah now has 118 wickets in 27 Tests in SENA countries at an impressive average of 22.55, with a career-best of 6/33. He shares the record of seven five-wicket hauls with Kapil Dev, followed by BS Chandrashekhar and Zaheer Khan (six each), and Bishan Singh Bedi and Anil Kumble (five each).
He also became the fifth Indian captain to claim a five-wicket haul in Tests, joining an elite list that includes Vinoo Mankad (one), Bishan Singh Bedi (eight), Kapil Dev (four), and Anil Kumble (two). The last Indian captain to achieve this feat was Kumble, with 5/84 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2007.
Bumrah’s remarkable five-wicket hauls in venues such as Johannesburg, Melbourne, Nottingham, North Sound, Kingston, Cape Town, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, and now Perth, cement his reputation as a formidable all-condition bowler.