First Test: Its Dial B for Bumrah when Indian team needs a breakthrough

The fifer which Jasprit Bumrah claimed at the Leeds on Sunday to give India a slender first innings lead was almost not happening. Right on the stroke of tea on third day, skipper Shubman Gill had all but tossed the ball to Shardul Thakur to get rid of a dogged Chris Woakes and the England tail till at the last minute, he changed his mind in favour of their go-to man for the wickets.

And sure enough, the smiling assassin did not disappoint. First, he ended the England allrounder’s resolute innings and in the very next over, Josh Tongue had no answer to a searing away swinger. A record 12th wicket haul in away Tests, which helped him equal Kapil Dev’s record while he now has 14 fifers in Test cricket in all – only second to the legendary allrounder (23) among Indian pace bowlers.

 For those statistically inclined, Bumrah also became the first Asian bowler to reach 150 Test wickets in the SENA countries ((South Africa, England, New Zealand & Australia). However, such figures alone hardly do justice to the kind of awe that the speed merchant creates among the batters of modern cricket across all formats as well as franchise cricket – time and again, match after match.

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Here’s what rival opener Ben Duckett said after Bumrah scalped him and all three England wickets to fall on Day II: ‘’He (Bumrah) is the best bowler in the world. He’s extremely hard to face, good in any conditions, and when he is coming down the hill with the lights on and it’s swinging both ways, it’s tough.’’ It’s rather rare to recall such unconditional praise from a top England batter, a major cog in the wheel for their Bazball game, for an Indian pace bowler.

There have been some world class performers in Indian cricket, hailed more for it’s lineage of great batters, among the pace bowlers too – but none had been as devastating as this man at peak fitness and full flow. If Kapil was the hallmark in terms of consistency, seam-and swing, the likes of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma or a Mohammed Shami have given the image of Indian fast bowling a major facelift over the years. However, it’s difficult to match up the kind of havoc that Bumrah had been wreaking on a regular basis despite his injury breaks – playing on the minds of batters with sizzling speed, unpredictability and a dazzling array of skillsets with the ball.

The unconventional action, where he creates momentum only with the last four to five steps of the run-up and the unique arm extension, plants an element of doubt in the batter’s mind – if it’s the dreaded yorker, the slower one, an inswinger or away swinger or a bouncer unless it comes out of the hand. ‘’You’ve got to watch the ball so hard with him, it’s very difficult to pick up Jasprit,’’ Buckett observed.

Two cricketing icons. One special recognition 🤝

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson pose alongside the new 𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣-𝙏𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙠𝙖𝙧 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙮 🏆#TeamIndia | #ENGvIND | @sachin_rt | @jimmy9 pic.twitter.com/4lDCFTud21

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2025

‘’He’s (Bumrah) been sensational. If not for those dropped catches, he might have had even seven or eight wickets to show against his efforts. He’s been the difference when he’s had the ball in his hand. Just about every delivery, it looks as if the batter is going to have a bit of a problem,’’ remarked the legendary Gavaskar.

Now 31, the genius had to let go the prospect of Test captaincy after Rohit Sharma’s retirement to manage his workload and wants to be play in three Tests in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. A tough call at the personal level as someone like Pat Cummins, who is of the same age as Bumrah at 31, had been helming the Australian Test team successfully.

The priorities before Bumrah are clearly different now. The first Test has already seen him bowl 24.4 overs – though Gill was careful enough to bring him back in shorter spells on both Saturday and Sunday. However, neither Mohammed Siraj, Prasiddh Krishna or Shardul Thakur had been able to provide the adequate support and a lot would depend on him if India is in a position to win the first Test.

 It's not easy to be in Bumrah’s shoes!

Most five-wicket hauls for India in away Tests

12 - Jasprit Bumrah (64 inns)

12 - Kapil Dev (108 inns)

10 - Anil Kumble (121 inns)

9 - Ishant Sharma (111 inns)