Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah for his match-winning efforts with both bat and ball in the second Test against England at Lord’s Cricket Ground after the tourists won the game by 151 runs on Monday (August 16).
Bumrah went wicketless in the first inning, but was on fire in the second innings, as he produced his brilliant all-around effort in the second Test to help the Indian cricket team take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series against England.
The 27-year-old pacer first scored valuable 34* runs and added an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 89 with Mohammad Shami (56*) to take India to 298/d on Day 5, and then scalped 3 wickets to help the tourists bowl England out for 120 to win the second Test by 151 runs at Lord's on Monday.
Hailing his match-winning efforts, the former pacer said if Bumrah manages to channelize his anger in a perfect way as he did at Lord’s, then he should get into such squabbles more often for India.
Zaheer said on Cricbuzz, “If that's the way he's (Jasprit Bumrah) going to carry himself on the field when angry, then he should get into such squabbles more often! Because see, he went wicketless in the first innings and the class of bowlers he's of, he must be livid by that too.”
He added, “Then the chats with Anderson on the field after those bouncers, how all the England players came at him when he was batting, all those things definitely motivate you and he channelized the anger perfectly. Now England must be thinking: 'Should have let Bumrah bowl bouncers, we were better off without irking him.' The intensity he has bowled with is immensely praiseworthy.”
Meanwhile, the former pacer lauded all the Indian bowlers for their efforts at Lord’s but was mightily impressed with Bumrah the way he dismissed Ollie Robinson in the second Test.
Zaheer explained, “Bowling a slower one is one thing, but doing so from around the wicket... if you have to get the batsman out LBW from that angle, you'll have to bowl from very close to the wicket and that's not easy. I think (Jasprit Bumrah's) thought process was brilliant because when you come around the wicket, the batsmen also think you'll bowl mostly bouncers.”
He signed off by saying, “Bringing out a variation in that while keeping that wicket-taking mindset intact [was brilliant to watch]. The whole bowling lineup had these plans for wickets, the aggression to go against the England team and unsettle them - one never got the feeling that England was comfortable or might save the day.”
(Cricbuzz inputs)
