Jasprit Bumrah the bowler has already made a name for himself around the world. He is widely recognised as one of the top fast bowlers in the game currently. On day two (December 18) of the ongoing pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval, he was applauded not just for his bowling but also for coming out to bat as the night-watchman.
In the lead up to the Test match, Bumrah had scored an unbeaten half-century against Australia A in the second tour match. This was his first at any level in professional cricket highlighting the improvement in his batting abilities.
Bumrah on Friday, took 2/52 in 21 overs, picking up the wickets of Australian openers Matthew Wade and Joe Burns. He could have picked at least couple of more wickets but Marnus Labuschagne and Tim Paine were dropped off his bowling. Despite the drops, it did not break his spirit and he kept running in with the ball for his captain, as India took a 53-run lead in the first innings after bowling out the hosts for 191.
Prithvi Shaw, the Indian opener, who is struggling for form and confidence, did not last too long and was dismissed for 4. Just when Australia would have expected Cheteshwar Pujara to walk out to bat for the last 2.5 overs, in came Jasprit Bumrah. He not only shielded the batsmen in the dugout, but also kept most of the strike to keep Mayank Agarwal safe from the new ball, remaining not out on 0 off 11 balls.
ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah delighted after scoring maiden first-class fifty
Bumrah's selfless effort was acknowledged by the Indian captain Virat Kohli and his teammates who were perhaps surprised to see how well he handled himself in challenging conditions against the new ball under lights.
Bumrah's IPL franchise Mumbai Indians also appreciated his performance with both bat and ball on the second day.
Here's few tweets of how the fraternity reacted to Bumrah's batting promotion:
