Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan admits Jasprit Bumrah should have won the man of the match award after showcasing his fast-bowling skills throughout the first Test. Joe Root was named the man of the match for scoring 173 runs in the game.
Jasprit Bumrah bagged four wickets in the first innings as India dismissed England for a mere total of 183. In the second innings, Bumrah went one step ahead and grabbed his career’s sixth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Thus, he ended the Nottingham Test with the figures of 9/118.
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Bumrah’s contribution wasn’t limited to the ball as he contributed with the bat as well. He notched up 28 runs with the bat in just 34 balls, which propelled India’s lead to 95 runs. Virat Kohli confessed after the Test that the runs scored by Bumrah were absolute gold dust.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Zaheer Khan pointed out hos Bumrah bossed the game and should have been adjudged man of the match for his efforts.
“If I had to pick only one player of the match, then definitely I would go with Bumrah. Reason is clear for that. He set the tone of the Test match from the first over. Yes, Joe Root is a very big player, he played a brilliant knock and kept England in the game. But even then, it wasn’t easy to win/draw for them. For that reason, Bumrah was the match-winner,” he said.
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“He started well, picked wickets throughout. In this match, India’s lower-order did well and Bumrah performed better with the bat as well compared to his England counterparts. He even didn’t let England tail hang around bowling some sensational swinging yorkers. So I feel Bumrah should’ve been the player of the match.”
Joe Root was the highest scorer in both innings for England. First, he scored 64 runs in the first innings before coming to England’s rescue again in the second innings with a sublime century. His 109 runs in the second innings put England in a fighting position.
The Nottingham Test ended as a draw after rain washed out the fifth day’s play with India needing 157 more runs to win the game while having nine wickets in hand.
