Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune
All eyes are on the pitch at the MCA Stadium. Speculation is rife that it will assist spin. The Indian team has added spice to such talks by naming Washington Sundar in the squad. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate added intrigue to everything by saying that another off-spinner might be a handy option against a New Zealand batting line-up containing a number of left-handers.
As the plot thickens and the Indian team contemplates how to come back in the three-Test series after losing the first, there is no doubt who the best bet is. Be it spin-friendly or conducive for fast bowling, the pitch is not a matter of concern when it comes to Jasprit Bumrah. He takes the surface out of the equation with his abnormal set of skills. Unfailingly, he delivers in every condition.
Flashback to the India-England series earlier this year. After losing the first Test, India found a saviour in Bumrah in the second game in Visakhapatnam. In conditions not assisting fast bowlers in any way, he turned the game in his team’s favour on the second day. It was hot and humid. He used reverse swing with telling effect to break England’s back in two sensational spells in the second session, which is arguably the most difficult period in India for his kind of bowling.
Bumrah made the New Zealanders hop and dance to his tune in the first Test of the ongoing series as well. He was almost unplayable in Bengaluru, although he didn’t have the figures to show for it. Efforts of 1/41 and 2/29 did not convey the kind of command he exerted over the visiting batters. Most of the times, they had no clue what was going on and failed to even make connection, forget middling. The ball kept beating the bat from different angles. Luck didn’t favour the bowler.
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The two dismissals Bumrah got in the second innings illustrates this point. He dismissed Tom Latham bowling over the wicket. The ball pitched on off stump or just outside and came back to trap the batter leg-before. Devon Conway was trapped in front by one delivered from around the wicket, which moved out after angling in. Both are left-handers. Bumrah beat the inside edge once and the outside edge on the other occasion, using opposite angles. This was fast bowling of a rare quality.
As the media and an anxious country anticipate a turner in Pune in India’s comeback bid, with all eyes on Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washington, Bumrah was quiet at the nets two days before the second Test. He batted for longer than he bowled and appeared to be in a jovial frame of mind. There was no hint of the hostility he can unleash.
There is every reason to take that as the proverbial lull before the storm. Bumrah is unique not only because of his awkward action. He is always thinking and keeping the batters guessing. He can read a batter’s mind, which keeps him one step ahead of the game. The way he varies his lengths and makes the ball move either way, there is little scope for the batters to foresee what is coming.
As India look to keep intact their winning run in home series after the defeat against England in 2012, with an eye on the spin unit, Bumrah appears to be the biggest threat for New Zealand. He lacked support in the first Test which the visitors won by eight wickets. With even some of it and not in great volume, this maverick can be the difference between the teams in Pune. Over to Bumrah.