Sunil Gavaskar applauded Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah for walking the talk and continuing to perform exceptionally well as team India’s frontline pacer and leader of the attack which bamboozled South Africa’s batting in the 2nd test of the Freedom Trophy series here in Newlands.
In the 1st at Centurion when India lost by an innings and 32 runs, most of the blame was put on the Jasprit Bumrah-led bowling unit which leaked 400 runs in the same pitch where the South African bowlers had wreaked havoc. India fell under the ruthlessness of Kagiso Rabada and Nandre Burger, 2 pacers that made batting look very difficult with the visitors crashing out for 245.
When it was India’s turn to bowl, expectations were that Bumrah, Siraj, Shardul, and debutant Prasidh Krishna would test South African batters but what happened was quite shocking to see. An early wicket by Jasprit Bumrah himself and that was it.
Dean Elgar scored 185, David Bedingham and Marco Jansen scored half-centuries as they posted 408, and there too, Bumrah was India’s best bowler with 4/69 in 27 overs. In the 2nd test match, however, Indian bowlers had redemption on their minds and Mohammed Siraj’s fiery 6/15 spell in the 1st innings made it pretty evident with South Africa getting all out for 55.
Watch The Fiery 6-Wicket Spell From Jasprit Bumrah
6 wickets !! What a spell from "Boom Boom" #JaspritBumrah ?
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Bumrah collected a brace and looked like he was overshadowed by Siraj’s magic. Therefore, he needed to create magic of his own and when South Africa came out to bat for the 3rd innings on the same day and the day after, Jasprit Bumrah was booming.
He responded with his 9th career 5-wicket haul and ended up proving the fact that he is still the leader of India’s bowling and that no one can replace him till the time he wants to be replaced.
“He Had To Take Wickets, He Is The Leader of The Pack”- Sunil Gavaskar Salutes Jasprit Bumrah’s Attitude
In Sunil Gavaskar’s eyes, Jasprit Bumrah’s Fifer was inevitable in the scenic stadium at Cape Town. Sunil Gavaskar claimed that the 30-year-old after remaining quiet in the 1st innings to let Siraj do the damage, must have been dissatisfied with his performance and wanted to make a difference in the 2nd innings.
The 74-year-old 1983 WC winner also stated that it must have been a case of Jasprit Bumrah’s ego being hurt after Siraj took 6 wickets and claimed his line length on Day 2 as he claimed 6 wickets as well.
“Bumrah had to take wickets. is a player who knew he had to do more. He is the leader of the pack. When someone is the leader of the pack, especially in the bowling department, he wants to take the most wickets. If he picks up five wickets and someone else takes five wickets, it’s not a problem.” – Sunil Gavaskar said.
“However, if he picks up four wickets and someone else takes six wickets, then he would feel that he hasn’t done his job as a leader of the pack. So he was looking for this opportunity. He probably bowled a little short yesterday (Day 1) but today (Day 2) he found a very good length and he got six wickets resultantly.” – Sunil Gavaskar concluded.