Jasprit Bumrah reiterated his status as the best bowler in the world with a stunning performance in India’s 295-run win over Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has said that he is glad he didn’t have to face Bumrah as a player.
Hussain said that he was wondering before the match as to why Bumrah was not being spoken of as much as other factors in the buildup. For India, the biggest talking point was the failure of their batting lineup in the shocking series whitewash that New Zealand inflicted on them at home, particularly the form of senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“He has that slower ball, the yorker, the bouncer… I was thinking before the game, he was doing the press conference and I was watching, that all of the focus was on Kohli, and Rohit Sharma not being there, balance of the Indian side, Steve Smith, whether these great players will get runs. And I thought, they don’t really talk about Bumrah. Maybe it’s (because) he is a bowler. Batters are highlighted so much more,” said Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket.
India were all out for just 150 batting first but Bumrah, who was captaining the visitors in Rohit’s absence, powered them right back into the match by recording figures of 5/30. Australia were all out for 104 after which centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, coupled with a 201 run opening stand between the former and KL Rahul, helped India set a mammoth target of 534 for Australia to chase. Bumrah took three wickets as Australia were all out for 238.
Bumrah’s current career average of 20.06 is the second-best among bowlers who have taken at least 150 Test wickets. In fact, his average is the best among bowlers in any Test match since the end of the Second World War, with England legend Sydney Barnes, who played between 1901 and 1914, being the only bowler above him in recorded history.
‘The best all-format bowler in the world bar none’
In the 27 Test matches that Barnes is recorded to have played, he took 189 wickets at an average of 16.43. His first-class record is even more mind-boggling – 719 wickets in 133 matches at a scarcely believable average of 17.09. Bumrah’s 181 wickets have come in 41 Tests at an average of 20.06. The fact remains though that the eras the two players belong to couldn’t be more different and there are a number of legendary fast bowlers whose average was below Bumrah’s at the same stage of their careers in the post-War era.
“Bumrah’s stats, he is up there with Sydney Barnes isn’t he? He has popped under 20 over quite a long period of time, it is incredible. He is the best all-format bowler in the world bar none,” said Hussain.