Jasprit Bumrah was a thing of beauty in the first innings of the 2nd Test with the ball in hand. He picked a six-fer and looked like the bowler on a mission. He single-handedly destroyed England with his skills. He was fast, he wa sharp and he was into the head of the batters. When Bumrah hit the off stump of Ben Stokes, the England captain’s reaction was quite interesting. He dropped his bat and lifted his hands in air in disbelief.
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Stokes’ reaction quickly went viral and acknowledged the genius of the pace bowling sensation. Stokes was also Bumrah’s 150th Test wicket. The Indian pacer now has 152 wickets in 34 matches and he is yet to finish his spell in the 2nd innings of the 2nd Test vs England, which means the number could swell.
Bumrah’s yorker to Ollie Pope which got rid of the well-settled batter is still going viral. Fans are watching the wicket on loop. It was a magical ball, something about which no batter could have done anything. It swung in air and hit the bottom of the stumps. Before Pope could bring his bat down, the wickets had been thrown into air. Pope left in frustration but even he knew he had done his best to survive over there.
A cricket match producer who goes by the name of Hemant Buch asked Pakistan fast bowling great Waqar Younis about his opinion on the delivery. He tweeted: “Hello @waqyounis99 – does this ball remind you of someone?”. To this Waqar made a cheeky reply, saying, “Can’t think of anyone. Bumrah’s Magic.”
Can’t think of anyone Hemant _.
Bumrah’s Magic _ https://t.co/bAguFfy6Au
— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) February 4, 2024
This is a big praise coming from someone who has 373 wickets in Tests and 416 in ODIs. Waqar was known for his toe-crushing yorkers which made many batters hop back to dressing room damaged. He was a master of reverse-swinging yorkers, something which Bumrah displayed when he got rid of Pope.
Bumrah’s job, however, is not done in the 2nd Test. He is expected to lead the bowling attack again in the 2nd innings as India aim to stop England from chasing down the target of 399. England still need 332 runs to win and have 180 overs remaining to achieve it. Bumrah along with R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav will hold key to India bowling out England in the 2nd innings before the target. The match has already turned into a intense battle between bat and ball. England’s ‘Bazball’ method stands as a huge threat as India aim to pick wickets early on in the morning of Day 4.
