BENGALURU: Barring his everlasting smile, Jasprit Bumrah is a man of few emotions. Outlandish celebrations or barbs and jibes exchanged with batsmen are a rarity.
On Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, he allowed himself a celebration, and he had more than one reason to do so. The 28-year-old, a tireless worker and a magician with the ball, reaffirmed his status as the lynchpin of the Indian bowling attack and a pacer destined for greatness.
On a rank turner in Bengaluru, Bumrah put up a stirring exhibition of precision, discipline and execution as he claimed his first five-wicket haul on Indian soil in his 28th Test match appearance.
Given the nature of the track, Bumrah’s show was reminiscent of former pace merchant Javagal Srinath’s 6 for 12 against South Africa on a rank turner at Ahmedabad in 1996. Coincidently, Srinath is the match referee here.
The dismissal of Niroshan Dickwella, his fourth on the day, also signalled his 300th international wicket (across formats). For the right-arm bowler, who made his Test debut against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018, his other five-stick hauls have been in Australia, England, South Africa and the West Indies. This was also the best figures by a seamer against Sri Lanka at home.
That’s a FIVE-wkt haul for @Jaspritbumrah93 ????????This is his 8th in Test cricket.Live – https://t.co/t74OLq6Zzg… https://t.co/a6InVHYWml
— BCCI (@BCCI) 1647161648000
On a dusty track, which had little in terms of purchase for pacers, Bumrah was relentless with his line and length and varied his pace brilliantly, making the ball unplayable and leaving the struggling Sri Lankan batsmen little room to manoeuvre.
Bumrah’s quest for his maiden fifer on home soil began on Saturday, under lights, when he put Kusal Mendis through a tough test before foxing the top-order batsman with the length, which tempted him to drive the ball that shaped away and resulted in a catch to Shreyas Iyer at third slip. That was the beginning of the unravelling of the Lankan line-up.
Change of angle resulted in Lahiru Thirimanne handing a catch to Iyer again. While the Lankan parade continued, Dickwella became Bumrah’s milestone victim when he gloved a short delivery to Rishabh Pant. As Bumrah raised his hand in celebration, the crowd applauded the man for all seasons and surfaces.
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