Indian pace leader Jasprit Bumrah was the star for India on day 2 as he completed a well-earned five-wicket haul as England was bowled out for 387 runs. With his 5/74, Bumrah’s name also went up on the Lord’s honors board for the first time.
He scalped pivotal wickets of Harry Brook, Joe Root, and captain Ben Stokes to give India a head start, despite fifties by Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse almost taking England to 400.
At the end of the day's play, Bumrah addressed the reporters and answered their questions. He elicited laughter when a reporter's wife called as he recalled his most memorable moment and dealing with judgment during a press conference after the end of the second day of play.
Midway through answering a question, a journalist’s phone rang, and Bumrah made everyone in the room laugh with his quick wit. Bumrah looked at the phone and quipped, "Somebody's wife is calling. But I will not pick it up."
Bumrah recalled his most favorite memory of playing at Lord’s and recounted his invaluable batting partnership with Mohammad Shami during the 2021 Test at the venue. It was the second Test at Lord's when Bumrah fell for a duck and went wicketless in the opening innings.
In his second turn, he and Mohammed Shami shared a vital 89-run unbroken stand to propel India to 298/8. He mustered 34(64), while Shami demonstrated his boundary-hitting prowess by hitting 56(70).
After setting the tone with a remarkable stand, Bumrah made the ball dance to his songs, taking three wickets for 3/33 as England fell 151 runs short.
"I don't think about all that. The most memorable test match for me was in England last time. When Shami Bhai and I won the match with the bat, I will obviously remember those memories. It is beneficial to attend the Honors Board. When my son grows up, I can tell him that my name is on the Honors Board," Bumrah said.
"And it is also there in many other places. But I remember the memories. In that match, I took only 3 or 4 wickets. But that memory was very special for me because we came forward in the game from behind, and we had them all out in 60 overs. So memories are very important to me," he added.
With a maiden five-for at Lord's, Bumrah put an end to all of the rumors that had been floating around regarding his possible outing. Bumrah is undeterred by the commotion and criticism around him and takes it as a necessary part of his work.
"Obviously, when I play for India, I want to contribute as much as I can, and when you can do it, you feel good that you have put the team in a good position. So my thought process remains the same. As long as I wear this jersey, there will be judgments because every cricketer goes through that. As long as I am playing on TV, there will be judgments.
And obviously, that is how a part and parcel of professional sport is. You will always be judged by your performances, and obviously, you will always be judged day in and day out. Even when Sachin Sir played 200 test matches, he was still judged. I have just left it that way. So everybody judges. And I forgot the question. But yes, that's how it is," he added.
(ANI inputs)
