“Jin logo ki naam aapne liya, Bumrah unse bhi aage nikal gayi hai (the names you have mentioned, Bumrah has surpassed them),” said Rashid Latif. The question to the former Pakistan captain was whether Jasprit Bumrah could sit alongside the likes of Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall and Wasim Akram.
Just going by the hard numbers, Lillee had 355 wickets from 70 Tests at 23.92. Marshall accounted for 376 scalps from 81 Tests at an average of 20.94. Akram took 414 wickets in 104 Tests at an average of 23.62. Bumrah has 181 wickets from 41 Tests at 20.06. His figures so far have been Sydney Barnes-esque (27 Tests, 189 wickets at 16.43). Barnes last played international cricket in 1914. Modern cricket is privileged to have the fast bowler from Ahmedabad.
Australia were bewitched by Bumrah’s genius in Perth. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, some of their batsmen, Marnus Labuschagne for example, probably couldn’t sleep and wouldn’t sleep until they have decoded the Indian quick. It’s a tough ask and the Australian batting unit runs the risk of getting bewildered again in Adelaide and beyond. Any complacency the hosts had before the start of the series has vanished into thin air.
India went for the five-Test series Down Under on the heels of a home series whitewash against New Zealand. Did Australia take them lightly? Labuschagne had spoken about the tourists being low on confidence. “It’s really hard to judge… They played in completely different conditions, spinning conditions,” he had said. “But, I mean, having India come here on the back of a loss at home, that’s something that has never happened before. So, I think that’s a good thing because they are probably a little bit low on confidence, not coming off a Test victory, losing to New Zealand 0-3. That’s going to do a little bit of damage to their confidence.”
As it turned out, Labuschagne was in the line of fire after the first Test, as Bumrah’s bowling sapped his confidence.
Ricky Ponting had tipped Australia to win the series 3-1. “I’m obviously going to tip Australia to win and I’m never going to tip against Australia,” the former Australia captain had said on the ICC Review. “There will be a draw somewhere and there will be some bad weather somewhere, so I’m going to say 3-1 to Australia.”
It’s a long series and a lot of cricket is still to be played. A response from the hosts to the Perth humiliation is due. But is there uncertainty in the Aussie camp? Adding Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster to the squad doesn’t align with what Pat Cummins had said after the first Test. “I mean, I’m not a selector, but I would be very surprised if we made any big changes (in Adelaide),” the Australia skipper told ABC Sports’ Darren Lehmann. “You know, a sample size of one this season. Really confident these are the best of 11 guys coming into this week. Yeah, this week didn’t go our way, but I’m still confident that’s the case.”
Cummins & Co avoided any power strut even after dismissing India for 150 in the first innings in Perth. Deep inside, they were unsure about their batting. Over the past 12 months, Labuschagne’s Test average is 23.57. Steve Smith’s is slightly better, 29.38. Usman Khawaja has made 459 runs in his last eight Tests at an average of 30.60. Debutant Nathan McSweeney looked tamed, like a rabbit caught in the headlights, against India’s marauding fast bowlers.
Coming back to Latif and his observation: “Australia couldn’t afford to take India lightly.”