OPINION
Follow UsOnce in every life time of ours, there comes a Jasprit Bumrah. In an era where limited-overs cricket has been all about bashing centuries and crunching boundaries, there exists something called an Indian bowling unit.
A bowling unit where Bumrah averages 25.42, Mohammad Shami averages 25.62 and Yuzvendra Chahal averages 27.44. Since 2010, the average bowling average for all bowlers in ODI cricket has been 33. When you put that into retrospection, you get the picture.
It is statistically the best bowling unit ever in Indian cricket. After winning the toss and electing to bowl, it is quite possible that the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma could have said to his bowlers, “Tum log dekh lo (You guys get the job done)”. Or maybe even uttered to Bumrah, “Jassi tu sambhal le”.
Perhaps, it was the best day to be a pacer in the English condition, which in recent time has seen far too many record-breaking totals.
Over the years, Bumrah has become India’s focal point of the Indian bowling unit. Even though he has just played the 70 ODIs for India, his name is already thrown into the mix for being one of the greatest Indian pacers of all-time with the white-ball. Unlike other pacers, Bumrah is calm, composed and possesses a quiet demeanour.
More often than not, it is the ball in his hand that does the singing. And when it sings, more often than not it is a melody. One that could rival even the greatest of singers, Tansen. In fact, his spell was followed by a spell of rain in London, it is perhaps that lingering effect of the melody produced by one of India’s greatest pacers, Bumrah.
Unlike Tansen’s music, the 28-year-old’s tune is easy to comprehend and skipper Rohit knows how to get the best out of this artist. Even before the right-arm speedster was brought into the attack, there were signs that the pitch was going to be a tough one to bat on, at least initially. And when Bumrah took the new-ball alongside Shami, it became a proven fact.
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Jason Roy’s last three T20Is score read: 27, 0 and 4 but the fact that his last ODI score was 101*, a blistering century was always going to make him dangerous. Give him an inch and he will run a carnage. But Bumrah’s plans perhaps was simple: make the batter take the risk. Like he has done throughout his career, the 28-year-old shifted the focus from him to Roy.
While the dismissal might have a fair share of luck attached to it, the plan was meticulous. In the build-up to the dismissal, the English opener had to deal with two cracker-jackers, so when he saw a delivery wide and loose, his eyes were light. But in the end, it was the bails that shone bright and there was a beaming smile on Bumrah’s face.
However, two deliveries later, there was a happier Bumrah. It was a peach. It was a wicket purely that should go down as Joe Root c Rishabh Pant b Bumrah’s wrist. It is one of the hallmarks of the 28-year-old’s bowling. The flick of the wrist at the end moment, the extra seam movement and the bounce that the flick generates, makes it tough, even if the batter is Root.
It is perhaps a dismissal that makes Bumrah deadly. You expect the seam, there is bounce; you expect bounce, there is swing. Even if you are prepared for all of that, there is that wretched wrist that could make the best of violinists go out of jobs. Two weeks after the conclusion of the fifth Test, Bumrah was bowling with the white-ball like it was a cherry.
The zip, the movement and the jump that the white-ball got off the surface, it continued to rattle the English batters. Jonny Bairstow, like Root was too on the receiving end of that carnage. It was short of a length, tempting Bairstow into a booming drive, which resulted in yet another wicket for Bumrah.
It was a mockery, both for Bumrah and Livingstone. While for Livingstone, it was one that made him look silly, for Bumrah it was one where he made England look silly. 5 overs, two maidens, nine runs, four wickets. Five of those runs came from one wide. The 28-year-old’s impact is such that you blink, you miss.
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The damage was already done. A first spell that read 4/9, it was nine out of ten times going to wreck any team. But that didn’t stop the Indian pacer. He returned for his next spell, wowed the Indian fans more and ultimately showed how incredibly blessed India are.
A trademark delivery from the 28-year-old saw Brydon Carse play all around it. But it would have dismissed any top-order batter. And in the next over, it was all done, a maiden six-wicket haul in white-ball cricket, a statement that bowlers win you games.
"When there is swing to offer and seam movement, it is exciting times for white-ball cricket. Very happy when there was some help for us in the beginning. When I bowled the first ball, I saw some swing... If there is no swing, you pull your length back," said an elated Bumrah at the post-match presentation.
6/19, India's third-best bowling figure but as future might say, India's best ever pacer. A few years down the line, this match might be forgotten but Bumrah’s spell won’t be. Perhaps, it wasn’t as big a deal as we made of it.
Maybe, it was just another day in this fairy-tale land called Bumrah-ville? We will never know!
