Former India player Pragyan Ojha has applauded Jasprit Bumrah for nearly single-handedly giving India the upper hand in the ongoing second Test against England Bumrah registered figures of 6/45 in 15.5 overs as England were bundled out for 253 in their first innings on Day 2 (Saturday) in Visakhapatnam. India, who took a first-innings lead of 143 runs, ended the day at 28 for no loss in their second innings as well.
Reviewing the day’s play on Colors Cineplex, Ojha said: “You need to first see the conditions and the wicket. Before the series, we were discussing that fast bowlers would bowl short spells and expecting them to pick up one or two wickets. However, here he single-handedly changed the course of the match, which is praiseworthy.”
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The former India spinner again added: “He would be extremely happy. We saw him feeling relaxed when he was sitting with the coach after his spell. It wasn’t because he had gone out of the ground but because of the way he bowled. The first four wickets he took, he broke England’s entire backbone. I feel it was fantastic bowling.”
However, Ojha was particularly appreciative of Jasprit Bumrah’s ability to reverse swing the ball in both directions. He also stated that very few bowlers possess that skill and Bumrah dismissed the opposition smartly. Meanwhile, Owais Shah opined that Jasprit Bumrah’s dominance over Joe Root has also put England in a spot of concern.
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“The England batters look towards Joe Root, that if he has a good series, they would reach a good position. However, he (Bumrah) has put Joe Root in trouble at the moment. Whenever he comes, he gets to reverse the ball in and out and gets rid of him,” he added. “He has been successful against our No. 1 batter in both games. That is why our middle order has been under slight pressure. Ollie Pope was in decent form in the first match but he bowled a magical ball to send him back.”
