It’s a common term in cricket — fast bowlers hunt in pairs. And when the leader of the pack, in this case Jasprit Bumrah runs through the top order to set the tone, it often eases off the pressure from the younger lot.
Putting behind the batting blues of the opening day, India came back strongly to gain firm control over the Perth Test against Australia with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul taking the first-innings lead of 46 - earned through a Jasprit Bumrah fifer - and stretched it past 200 by the end of the second day’s play at the Optus Stadium on Saturday.
On the eve of the opening Test of the latest tussle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Jasprit Bumrah had stressed starting a new tradition of fast bowlers being handed Test captaincy.
Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah affirmed that his side is not carrying "any baggage" from India of their historic whitewash against New Zealand and offered surety about the team being well equipped for the challenging conditions and series ahead of them.
While the Kangaroos have bested India to claim the World Test Championship 2023 final but Hazlewood felt that winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade has been high up on their wishlist.
A week before the opening Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth, India suffered a setback after Shubman Gill suffered a left thumb injury while taking a catch on the second day of India’s intra-squad training match at the WACA.
Star batter K L Rahul was forced to retire hurt after being hit by a rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna during the team’s intra-squad match simulation at the WACA in Perth on Friday.
Kohli has endured an indifferent run across all formats over the last few months, with the 36-year-old managing just one half-century and averaging only 21.33 across five Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand since the start of the year.
While Australia comfortably pocketed the four-Test series 2-0 by winning the first two matches in Adelaide and Brisbane, the Indians showed glimpses of what’s stored for their future tours with commendable performances, to draw the remaining games in Melbourne and Sydney.
Shami’s return to action was confirmed after Bengal named the fast bowler in the squad for the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore starting Wednesday.
