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India's A-Lister Jasprit Bumrah has made a case for himself to be considered one of the greats with his exemplary record in Australia.
Bumrah was one of the architects behind India's biggest Test win in Australia (by a margin of runs) following their unparalleled 295-run triumph in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener in Perth on Monday. The 30-year-old delivered a squeaky-clean performance throughout the four days of play as a captain and the leading quick of India's pace attack. He kept breathing down Australian batters' throats and returned with match figures of 8/72. For his outright dominance in Perth, Bumrah was deemed Player of the Match in the BGT opening match at the Optus Stadium. With his heroic effort, Bumrah has scythed 40 Test wickets in Australia in just eight matches, averaging 18.80, while striking at 45.7. Of the 100 bowlers who have at least 30 Test wickets in Australia post World War II for the hosts or the visiting team, Bumrah's average is only bettered by New Zealand icon Richard Hadlee (17.83). This one statistic defines how Bumrah emerged as a modern-day bowling great with his impeccable knack for taking wickets in the most challenging conditions. Labelled as the "greatest fast bowler" of the present era, Bumrah's match figures feature among the top five returns by an Indian captain in Test format. His impressive tally is bettered by Indian cricketing legends Kapil Dev and Bishan Singh Bedi. Kapil's 10/135 against the West Indies in Ahmedabad in 1983 still stands out as the best match returns by an Indian skipper in red-ball cricket. Bishan's 10/194 against Australia at the WACA in 1977 features as the second-best match figures in the tally. Bishan's 9/70 against New Zealand in Chennai in 1976 comes in at the third spot, followed by Bumrah's magic in Perth on Monday. (ANI)
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