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MELBOURNE: Keep calm and listen to Jasprit Bumrah. That seems to be the mantra for India’s under-pressure support cast of pace bowlers going into the all-important fourth Test.
As the frontline pacers hit the nets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, Bumrah’s towering presence in this India squad was in full view. It also served as a sobering reminder of the team’s over-reliance on him in this series. A freakishly rare species of express fast bowler who needs judicious handling, Bumrah has instead been everywhere, done everything on this tour, even with the bat — like staving off the follow-on in the Brisbane Test in the company of pace compatriot Akash Deep.
With the new Kookaburra ball, Bumrah has been a phenomenon. Going into the Boxing Day Test, an astonishing 44.68% of the Australian wickets taken by India’s bowlers have fallen to Bumrah. He even captained the team to victory in the opening Test. Now, it seems, there’s another, all-important task remaining — rallying the rest of the pace lineup, which has struggled to match Bumrah’s standards.
Harshit Rana has been replaced, Akash Deep has been luckless and Mohammed Siraj has been off-kilter since that showdown with Travis Head. Akash, who replaced Rana after the Adelaide Test and has been impressive without being penetrative, said here on Sunday that the relative inexperience of the pace line-up made Bumrah’s tips invaluable.
“Unko aap pura trust kar sakte ho (you can completely trust his suggestions),” Akash said.
Bumrah’s advice and attention to detail has been limited to simple, executable tasks which have helped the bowler — be disciplined with your lengths, keep your mind uncluttered, don’t be excitable. Don’t get overawed by the occasion.
“This is my first time in Australia, so I didn’t have any experience of playing here,” Akash said. “Jo who chhoti, chhoti cheezay batate hain, who kaafi useful hota hai (he tells us small, small things which are very useful). He told me not to get excited after seeing the help from the pitches. Just select your spot and keep bowling there, the pitch will sooner or later offer some help. Don’t think too much, come in and bowl like you bowl in India.”
Still, the wickets have largely eluded India when Bumrah isn’t bowling. The often lone spinner, as Ravindra Jadeja said the other day, has been reduced to holding one end up because of the conditions.
Akash repeatedly beat Steve Smith in Brisbane, even earning the batter’s praise, but the breakthrough just wouldn’t come.
Siraj, meanwhile, has looked off-kilter since the Australian crowds started their incessant booing. He has seemed a bit upset to be the object of their derision. Bumrah disclosed in Brisbane how he had had a word with Siraj before coming here.
“When we arrived in Perth, as well as (in) the last game, he looked in very good spirits. He was bowling well. Here (in the third Test), he played with a niggle. He’s got a great attitude and a fighter’s spirit that the team loves, that I personally love. He always gives it his all. In terms of wickets, some days you will bowl well and they won’t come. That is the conversation I’ve had. Keep focusing on your stuff, things you can control. Keep running in, having a smile on your face,” Bumrah had said.
Still, Siraj has struggled to maintain the consistency Akash has.
Harshit Rana, meanwhile, has been bowling full tilt in the nets since the Adelaide meltdown against Travis Head, with bowling coach Morne Morkel working closely with him. Morkel will know the old ball, in particular, that phase of the game after the first 30 or so overs, is where Australia have marched ahead with the bat.
“It’s not that we’re not bowling well with the old ball,” Deep said. “Luck is a factor. If you see the last game, Travis Head survived a couple of close calls at the start of his innings. He also had a bit of trouble against the short ball. When I was bowling to Smith, he was getting beaten both ways. I thought he should get out at any time, but then I realized wickets are not in my control. I can only bowl in the right areas. Otherwise, you tend to put pressure on yourself.”
The end result has been that India have either had to wait for the second new ball, and for Bumrah to return, or given him longer spells first-up.
Bumrah, dutifully, has turned on the magic whenever required. Australia haven’t breathed easy with him around. He has dismissed the openers and the middle order (Nos. 3-6) eight times each and the tail five times. He has been relentlessly at the batters. Of his 21 dismissals, 15 have been either caught by the wicketkeeper (9), LBW (4) or bowled (2).
It’s the sort of uncanny form which the other bowlers have struggled to replicate.
There’s still a way to go for the Boxing Day Test and India have time to firm up their plans. Bumrah will aim for the stratosphere again at the MCG, just like in 2018. In his slipstream, the others, armed with Bumrah’s tips, will be hoping to sneak in a few moments of their own.
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