Australia’s pink-ball prowess means the series is leveled 1-1. What started off as an ominous Perth win has quickly subdued into a very level series, with Australia ahead. A big loss in Adelaide has suddenly gotten everyone talking. The Indian side is all of a sudden deeply flawed. But sport doesn’t work on impulse reactions now, does it? The Indian side has its flaws, and considering their recent 0-3 home loss against the Kiwis, they have seen better days. But they have an ace up their sleeve - Jasprit Bumrah. And as long as he is donning the whites for India, you’d be a fool to rule them out.
In all fairness, Perth looked like a miracle. It was magic conjured up by a magician. To jog your memory, the Indians were bowled out for 150 in the first innings. It looked like the all too familiar story from their home season had carried over to Australia. That was until Bumrah dismantled the Australian batting alongside their spirits. That win has to solely be credited to Bumrah’s brilliance. Everyone knows Bumrah is a generational player, but that Perth evening has forever etched him into the pantheon of pace greats. Not for the spell, but for the effect that dreadful evening had on the Australian dressing room.
Imagine, it’s day 1, the visitors are fresh off a home whitewash, the World Test Championship Final qualification is on the line. And the hosts have bowled the visitors out for 150. There have rarely been better first two sessions of a series for any team. What happened after that defines Bumrah’s greatness for me.
Australia lost 7 wickets in 27 overs till the end of day 1. With every passing delivery the prayers in the Aussie dressing room must have gotten louder and louder. India was breathing fire on the pitch. It was a massacre. Bumrah had already sent 3 out of Australia’s top 4 batters back to the pavilion within 7 overs. By the time umpires flicked off the bails, the hosts had already lost the game. What had been two exhilarating sessions had quickly transitioned into a nightmare evening session for them.
Jasprit Bumrah had bowled 10 out of India’s 27 overs on day 1. He had conceded only 17 runs whilst grabbing 4 wickets. This was a freakishly good spell. One that fans would remember for ages. The Optus Stadium corridors will forever echo India’s “howzzattt” after what seemed like every Bumrah delivery.
There was chatter that Australia had already lost the series and this was going to be a similar story to the previous two India series. Home favorites were suddenly being talked about like they were some domestic side, all because Bumrah had put the fear of god in them with his ridiculous spell. Every time he ran in to bowl it seemed like a wicket was around the corner. He was ominous, and really the point of difference. His greatness lies in the effect he has on his team. Bowlers like Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana are able to bask in Bumrah’s glory. Now don’t get me wrong, they’re two good bowlers, but Siraj is inconsistent, and Rana was making his debut. Bumrah not only executes miracles, but uplifts his team, making an ordinary bowling lineup look invincible.
When it is all said and done, the statistics perhaps won’t do Bumrah justice, but pace bowling will forever be indebted to him for reviving bowling in a batting era. His greatness is McGrath-esque, Anderson-esque, Akram-esque, but where he stands alone is his significance in India’s bowling lineup. Without Bumrah, this lineup looks fickle and weak, but with Bumrah in it, it is a procession, there is a sense of inevitability in the air. If you’re batting against Bumrah, it’s not a question of “if”, but a question of “when”.
Regardless of how this series goes, Optus Stadium and the streets of Perth will forever remember that enchanted spell. Was it the pitch? Was it the Kookaburra leather? Or was it just watching a wizard spell magic after he had seen his team get bundled out for 150. Maybe it was just a genius putting it all on the line when his team needed him the most. It was a master craftsman at work, carefully dismantling a home batting lineup, putting the fear of god more and more into the 30k+ Western Australian fans that had wandered into a lion’s den.
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