India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets to dismantle Australia in the first innings of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth. India needed a special effort from their bowling unit after being bowled out for only 150 in their first innings, and Bumrah delivered exactly that. The 30-year-old led the charge by dismissing Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith within the first seven overs, and ultimately ended up with a sensational fifer. Legendary Australian batter Matthew Hayden was all praise for Bumrah.
“Bumrah left Australia with eggs on their face,” said Hayden, speaking on Star Sports after Day 2.
“It was a case of a poor start but a great finish for India. Australia will be going into day 3 under pressure. There’s still a lot in it in this Test. There’s still a lot in it in this Test. World-class players like Kohli and Smith didn’t get success,” Hayden added.
Bumrah’s decision to win the toss and bat first had come under criticism, in what is only his second Test match as captain. However, he made sure to silence any doubters with a sensational performance. Australia were bundled out for only 104, leaving India with a 46-run first innings lead.
He was ably backed up by pace partners Mohammed Siraj and debutant Harshit Rana. Siraj got two wickets while Harshit ended with three on debut.
“A lot of touring sides get carried away by the bounce on Australian conditions, but not Bumrah, he was on the money from ball one. He was backed up by Siraj and Rana,” Hayded said further.
Indian openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal batted for the entirety of the final two sessions on Day 2, to end the day on 172/0 and a lead of 218 runs. Jaiswal ended Day 2 on 90 runs, redeeming himself after a duck in the first innings.