Seven wickets fell on the first two days’ action at the MCG. A ‘dead’ pitch appeared on the road for a second successive drab draw.
But no one told Jasprit Bumrah that.
The Indian pacer – still in his first year in Test cricket – waded into the Australian batting lineup on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test with figures of 6/33, the best for an Indian fast bowler Down Under since 1985.
It was a display of fierce, toe-crushing precision – four of Bumrah’s six scalps were either bowled or leg before wicket, with one of those four a ‘jaffa’ of the year contender to deceive Shaun Marsh with a slower ball.
The final three wickets came in a nine-ball burst to wipe out the Australian tail, ensuring a massive 292-run lead for India.
The Records Bumrah Broke
- Career-best figures for Bumrah in Tests, bettering the 5/54 he claimed against South Africa at Johannesburg in January.
- Bumrah’s third five-wicket haul in nine Tests, but the first time he has taken a six-for in international cricket.
- All three of Bumrah’s five-fors in Tests have come outside Asia (the 25-year-old is yet to play a Test match in the subcontinent).
- Bumrah, in fact, becomes the first Asian bowler to take a five-for in South Africa, England and Australia in the same calendar year.
- Best figures for any Indian bowler in Tests at the MCG, surpassing Bhagwath Chandrasekhar’s 6/52 in 1977.
- Second-best figures for an Indian fast bowler in Tests in Australia, behind only Kapil Dev’s 8/106 at Adelaide in 1985.
- Only the fifth instance of an Indian pacer taking six wickets in an innings in a Test match Down Under.
- Only the 15th instance of an Indian fast bowler returning a six-wicket haul in a single innings in Tests outside Asia.
Bumrah Breaks Twitter Too
Among his initial strikes was the ‘jaffa’ to account for Shaun Marsh, which neither the batsman nor the world is likely to forget any time soon.
It even brought with a statement prediction from former Australia captain Michael Clarke.
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