OPINION
Follow UsJasprit Bumrah is a superstar. There have been spells when he has created a world of his own. You can sense the unease on the batter’s face while facing him. The over from the other end becomes redundant as the world is waiting to watch Bumrah with his tail up in the next over. It is a long time back now but he bowled a similar spell in only the previous match of the series.
His spell of 6-3-6-2 broke the back of England’s run chase at the Oval in the fourth Test. Bumrah’s breathtaking spell of reverse swing overwhelmed the conditions and the English batters. On Saturday (July 2), Day 2 of the Edgbaston Test, in his subsequent appearance in the series post that aforementioned spell, Bumrah overwhelmed the opposition yet again. The difference was, that it was with the bat.
Yes, Bumrah overwhelmed the opposition with the bat. Growing up as a fast bowler, there are few chances he would have dreamed about breaking a batting record belonging to Brian Lara. The Wasim Akrams, and Glenn McGraths might have been on his mind. But a relevant batting record from Brian Lara? That is a bit of a stretch.
To his surprise and to that of many, he smashed 29 runs in the 84th over of India’s innings, facing Stuart Broad. With this, he went a step ahead of Lara and George Bailey who jointly held the record for scoring the most runs in an over in Test cricket. Including the five wides and a no-ball from the bowler’s perspective, it was also the most runs conceded in an over by a bowler in Test cricket.
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You almost felt bad for Stuart Broad. He had conceded 16 runs after the first legitimate delivery. Being hooked by Bumrah for a six was bewildering enough for him but on the way back to his mark, he looked back twice at the umpire Aleem Dar signalling a no-ball after being informed by the TV umpire. Guess he lost the plot there. He now holds the record for both: the most expensive over in Tests as well as T20Is. We all know he is a better bowler than that.
On the other end, England thoroughly deserved it. They opted for a short ball barrage with the second new ball against the tailenders who are known to be weak in their defensive technique. When common sense demanded them to be bowling straight at the stumps, the tactics allowed Bumrah to swing his bat and take his chances. What makes these tactics more abysmal is that they have suffered this wrath before. Did they learn nothing from the Lord's?
Only four of the 53 deliveries to Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj were hitting the stumps in the morning session.
For Bumrah, it was a party. He relishes the short-pitched length. 72 off Bumrah’s 161 Test runs against pace have come off the short or back-of-a-length area. 41 runs have come with the pull/hook stroke. He loves that shot, using the pace of the ball in anticipation. That is how he deposited Kagiso Rabada for a maximum in Johannesburg earlier this year.
Bumrah’s 16-ball 31 not out raced India to 416 from 371/8 in the blink of an eye. The best of the lot was probably the four in front of square on the fourth legitimate ball of the over. It was another pull that swept Bumrah off his feet. Importantly, he middled it to hit the gap in the deep and the awkward tumble was a reminder of Rishabh Pant who had set the platform for this carnage. It was followed by a sublime pull stroke in the Nataraj pose which was a reminder of Kapil Dev, the last fast bowler (all-rounder) to lead India.
Mohammad Siraj, at the other end, burst into a smile and gave Bumrah a hug that surfaced the emotions of all the cricket fans, except the England cricketers in the park. After all, you don’t see a number 10 hold a relevant batting record in Test cricket.
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After a 10th wicket stand of 41 runs with Siraj, Bumrah added to England’s misery in his familiar style with the ball. He wrecked the England top-order in an elongated first spell, thanks to the two rain breaks in between, picking three wickets.
Failing to read the movement of the ball, Alex Lees was the first man out as Bumrah sneaked through his defence from around the wicket. Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope were thrown full-pitched baits outside the off-stump, getting them to edge in the slip cordon.
Lees and Pope were out on the seventh ball of the over. It raised the question if a no-ball is always an advantage for the batters if they have to face an extra delivery of a bowler of high quality. James Anderson felt it in the Lord’s Test last year when he didn’t want to face Bumrah but was stuck at the striker’s end.
While Anderson eventually survived the over, Lees and Pope didn’t. Bumrah did a Broadesque celebration, covering his face in both delight and surprise at Pope’s departure.
On a truncated day’s play, where only 38.5 overs of play was possible, Jasprit Bumrah still left his mark to make it India’s day. England must have prepared to tackle his bowling expertise - and still didn’t manage him well - but Bumrah the batter came out of the syllabus. Not to forget, it is also a glorious start to his journey as captain.
