jasprit bumrah rattled through Nathan Lyon’s guard in his very first over of day five at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, putting a cap on a fantastic day four spell by sealing a five-wicket haul and continuing the terrific form he has shown during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Bumrah has performed at an admirable level in this series, breaching the 30-wicket mark and convincing many Australian fans that this ranks amongst the best performances by a visiting bowler in one of the most challenging situations in world cricket.
Bumrah became the first visiting bowler and only the second Indian player to take 30 wickets in a series in Australia, joining the ranks of Bishan Singh Bedi and doing something not achieved by anyone since Curtly Ambrose 32 years ago.
Bumrah also possesses the second-best bowling average of any series with 20+ wickets in Australia, at 12.83, bettered only by Richard Hadlee’s 12.15 with 33 wickets in 1985.
He also took his series five-fer total to 3, adding onto his fantastic performances in Perth and Adelaide thanks to a remarkable burst in the afternoon session of day four to bring Australia from 80-2 to 91-6.
Bumrah joins Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar, and Anil Kumble as Indian bowlers with three five-fers on a tour of Australia, becoming the first Indian seamer to reach that mark, and has time to become the first Indian to take four five-fers in Australia at the MCG.
In terms of Asian seamers, Bumrah draws level with Imran Khan on three five-fers, and could join a list of just five players with four or more five-fers in a single series in Australia with another strong performance in Sydney.
Bumrah close to setting new BGT standard
Most remarkably, Bumrah now stands alone as the player with the most wickets in a Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia in the 21st century, including Australian bowlers.
He surpassed Ben Hilfenhaus, who took 27 wickets during the 2011-12 series, and handily passed Anil Kumble, who took 24 wickets in Australia in 2003-04.
Bumrah stands just two wickets short of becoming the leading wicket taker in any single iteration of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the current record held by Harbhajan Singh, who took 32 wickets during the famous 2001 series played in India.
While Bumrah has the advantage of a bonus match, his record-setting numbers within just four games is a credit to his effectiveness in these matches so far.
Bumrah’s wickets helped ensure a competitive final day at the MCG, but a stolid rearguard effort by Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, and Scott Boland meant India have to chase 340 on the final day. India were knocked back after a patient start by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul being dismissed by Lyon in the space of a single over.
