India vs Australia: Jasprit Bumrah Impresses on ODI Debut

The last six ODI scores against India read like this: 438/4, 310/5, 309/3, 296/7, 348/8 and 330/7. The amount of high scores conceded by the Indian bowlers and their inability to bowl the opposition out has made Indian fans believe that the team must play 11 batsmen. (Jasprit Bumrah to Replace Mohammed Shami in Australia)

 

In the final ODI in Sydney, the script played out in similar manner. After a relatively tough period with the new ball, Australia seized on the listless display in the middle overs and centuries from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh helped Australia amass 330/7. Umesh Yadav gave away 82 runs in eight overs, Rishi Dhawan 74 in his 10 overs while Ishant Sharma, the most experienced of the lot, gave away 60 in his 10 overs but picked up two wickets.

 

However, there was one small change in the script this time. There was a bowler who shone through on debut. He did not allow Australia any freebies. He maintained discipline and stuck to the basics well. He bowled magnificently at the death. Meet Jasprit Bumrah.

 

Bumrah replaced Bhuvneshwar Kumar and he was brought on in the eighth over of the innings when Australia had moved to 39/1 in the seventh over. In his first over, he ticked all the boxes. He bowled in the right areas, maintained a tight line around off stump and bowled in the range of 135 to 140 kmph. Giving away only three runs in the first over signalled a good start.

 

In his second over, he slightly missed his line which allowed Warner to muscle a slow, short ball to midwicket for a boundary. That was the only blip and he rectified it immediately in the third over when he held the length back. He got the big wicket of Steven Smith with a ball that climbed up from a short of a length and cramped Smith for room.

The Australian skipper, who has been the thorn in India's flesh for the past one year, mistimed the pull to midwicket to give Bumrah his first wicket. His first spell of 5-0-17-1 had finally given India's bowlers something to smile.

 

Jasprit Bumrah was the leading wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in India.

© BCCI

Wonderful Bowling at the Death

 

Warner and Mitchell Marsh strung a good partnership and they were maintaining a good rate. Bumrah came back and in his short spell of three overs, he gave away just 11 runs to peg the scoring rate back slightly.

 

It was his bowling at the death though which gave India massive reasons to cheer. In the 49th over, he cleaned up James Faulkner with a perfect yorker and gave away just three runs. His length and line were immaculate and his variations worked very well as Australia struggled to finish off in grand style.

 

Great Form Heading into the Match

 

Bumrah ended with figures of 10-0-40-2, the best by a pace bowler in this series. His performance might not have come as a surprise, considering he has been in magnificent form in limited overs in the Indian domestic scene.

 

In the 2015/16 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was the leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets in nine games at an average of 16.09. His best haul of 5/28 came in the final against Delhi which gave Gujarat their maiden Vijay Hazare title. He carried his form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy even, taking 14 wickets at an average of 15.42. On a wicket in Sydney which was holding up, Bumrah bowled in the right lengths to give nothing away.

 

In a series which has had nothing positive for the Indian bowlers, Bumrah's performance stands out as a shining light.