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regular-article-logo Friday, 17 May 2024

No magic at play, just proper execution: Jasprit Bumrah after landmark six-wicket haul

'To get Root and Pope (out) at that time was very important for us because we understood the wicket did not do a lot and was a little on the slower side'

Sayak Banerjee Vishakapatnam Published 04.02.24, 08:20 AM
India's bowler Jasprit Bumrah with teammates celebrates the wicket of England's batter Ollie Pope during the second day of the second Test cricket match between India and England, at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024.

India's bowler Jasprit Bumrah with teammates celebrates the wicket of England's batter Ollie Pope during the second day of the second Test cricket match between India and England, at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. PTI

Like on Day I, around 10,000 or a little more had turned up at the stadium here on Saturday. But the noise grew so loud when Jasprit Bumrah’s fast, pinpoint accurate inswinging yorker dismantled Ollie Pope’s stumps that one felt as if it were a capacity crowd chanting “Bumraaah, Bumraaah”.

Such was the impact of that breathtaking ball, which has been crucial to India going into Day III with a healthy 171-run lead and all 10 wickets intact.

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“To get Root and Pope (out) at that time was very important for us because we understood the wicket did not do a lot and was a little on the slower side,” Bumrah said at the news conference later, talking about his game-changing second spell, during which he also prised Joe Root out, conceding only three runs in those four overs.

Reverse swing certainly had a role to play, but Bumrah wasn’t thinking of producing any kind of a magic delivery as he plotted the dismissal of the in-form Pope. “At that time, the ball was relatively hard. So yes, there was some reverse swing.

“When there’s reverse swing, you don’t have to bowl magical deliveries every ball. So, I had bowled a few away-going deliveries and then there was a thought going on in my head. What do I bowl? Should I bowl a length delivery shaping in or should I go for a yorker?

“I had not bowled a yorker till then. I thought, ‘Okay, might as well take a chance with that’. And it did swing a lot. The execution was also good,” Bumrah explained.

First-class cricket is what helped him master reverse swing, Bumrah emphasised. “In first-class cricket in India, if you want to take wickets, you have to learn to bowl reverse swing.

“Probably, I learnt to bowl that first than the conventional swing as we play a lot of cricket on slow wickets. You have to find a way and the areas you have to hit.”

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