Building pressure as a bowling unit key to success: Bumrah

After being rested for the limited-over series against the West Indies, pacer Jasprit Bumrah produced a clinical bowling display against the hosts, specially in the second innings of the first Test as he scalped 5 for 7 runs, starring in India’s massive 318-run win.

Set an improbable target of 419 after Virat Kohli declared the tourists’ second innings at 343 for seven in mid-afternoon, the hosts were demolished in 26.5 overs for their lowest Test innings total ever against India with Bumrah returning the outstanding figures of five for seven off eight overs.

Four of his victims were comprehensively bowled in an irresistible spell in which he displayed a previously unseen ability by him to swing the ball both ways.

Ishant Sharma supported Bumrah brilliantly in sharing the new ball, taking three for 31 to finish with eight wickets in the match.

Mohammed Shami chipped in with two wickets which reduced the West Indies to 50 for nine and it took some big hitting from Kemar Roach, who top-scored with 38, to double his side’s total.

It was Sharma who ended Roach’s resistance and sealed victory via a top-edged hook to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

After Ajinkya Rahane completed his tenth Test hundred and Hanuma Vihari fell seven runs short of his maiden Test century, prompting the declaration, Bumrah and Sharma were utterly devastating. Speaking after the match on Sunday, Bumrah felt he always had the ability to bowl the inswingers. However, now he has learnt the art of bowling the outswingers. In the second innings, Bumrah was seen swinging the ball both ways as it was enough to torment the batsmen.

“Feeling good and we built pressure as a bowling unit which was nice. We used the breeze to our advantage and stuck to our plans. Lot of hard-work and practice goes into that (about bowling the outswinger).

“I always had the inswinger but the more I played the more confident I got,” the pacer said at the post-match presentation.

“Playing with the Dukes ball in England helped me a lot, too. It has helped my confidence. Always trying to evolve as a bowler and always trying to do new things and when the ball is not swinging maybe try and use the seam to get the movement,” he added. India will now take on the hosts in the second and final Test at Sabina Park in Kingston from Aug.30.

Meanwhile, keeping India’s pace battery fully charged will be crucial to the team’s ICC World Test Championship chances, skipper Kohli said following their win over West Indies.

Bumrah’s fourth five-wicket haul made him the only Asian to achieve the feat in South Africa, England, Australia and West Indies, and Kohli justified the decision to rest the 25-year-old for the three ODIs and three T20 games before the tests.

“That’s why Bumrah didn’t play any white-ball cricket after the World Cup because we wanted him fresh for the tests,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“He’s going to be a key factor for us as long as the test championship continues. We know how good a bowler he is and the impact he can make in a spell.

“That’s probably the most important thing for us right now, managing player workloads.”

The inaugural championship involves the nine top-ranked test nations competing in a league between July 2019 and April 2021, with the top two sides progressing to the final which will be held in England in June 2021.

“Mohammed Shami is the same (as Bumrah). Ishant Sharma is a banker for years now and he can make an impact in any spell he bowls. Those three together are bowling well,” Kohli added.

“Umesh Yadav hasn’t had a game, and we have Navdeep Saini, who can bowl 150 clicks (kmph), waiting in the wings. We’re pretty settled as far as our bowling options are concerned.”

In another positive sign, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane scored his first century in international cricket in over two years, scoring 102 in the second innings while Hanuma Vihari made 93.

All-rounder Vihari, preferred ahead of batsman Rohit Sharma due to his part-time off-spin, said he was working on his bowling to keep his place.

“It’s important that my off-spin keeps developing, not only for myself but for the team as I fit in just because of that combination,” Vihari told a news conference.

“I’m trying to ... get better at it. So, hopefully, I’ll get more overs and help the team in the future.”

Agencies