The fans and experts might have expected another rank-turner in Visakhapatnam with the spinners having a great outing. But pacer Jasprit Bumrah twisted the plot with his sheer brilliance in both innings. After registering his best bowling figures at home – 6/45 in the first innings – he returned on the penultimate day of the game to pocket four more scalps to bag a 9-wicket match haul.
9 for 91 is now Bumrah’s best figure in a Test match played at home. His career-best match came in the 2018 tour of Australia in which he picked up 9 for 86 in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Bumrah received the Player of the Match award for his rank-turning spells, edging past the centurions of the game; Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill.
“As I said before, I don’t look at numbers. As a youngster, I did that and it made me excited. But now it’s an added baggage. As a youngster that is the first delivery I learned (Yorker). Had seen the legends of the game. Waqar, Wasim and even Zaheer Khan. We’re going through a transition so I feel it’s my responsibility to help them in any way I can,” Bumrah said.
” I look at the situation, at the wicket and think what are my options. I should not be a one-trick pony,” he added.
Meanwhile, India skipper Rohit Sharmaa also heaped praise on his leading pacer and called him a champion player.
“He is a champion player for us,” Rohit said but wanted to look at the bigger picture..
“You win a game like that, you have to look at the overall performance as well. We were good with the bat. You know winning a Test in these conditions is not easy. Wanted our bowlers to step up and they did that,” he added.
After blunting ‘Bazball’ with their resilience in a roller-coaster contest, Team India will fly to Rajkot for the third Test, starting February 15.
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