Sydney: India skipper Jasprit Bumrah, who is known for his calm and composure, showcased a ‘rare’ side of him when things took a fiery turn in the last over of Day 1 of the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at the Sydney Cricket Ground here on Friday. Young batter Sam Konstas, who has constantly gotten under the skin of Indian players since his debut in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was involved in an animated chat with Bumrah from the non-striker end.
However, it was the Indian pacer who had the last laugh on the very next delivery, on the final ball of the day, as Bumrah found the outside edge of Usman Khawaja’s bat and the catch was taken by K.L Rahul at second slip to dismiss the batter for two. Interestingly, a pumped-up Bumrah gave a send-off instead to Konstas, with the Indian fielders joining in, as the visitors’ had some cheers at the end of a tough day.
“Yeah, they’re all fired up, and it’s great to see, right at the end of a long series, this kind of emotion. I mean, Bumrah has been phenomenal, and ‘great’ doesn’t seem to be enough to describe his performance as a bowler. To see him fired up in this fashion is quite rare.
“Sam Konstas—there’s something about him that gets under the skin of the Indian players. You saw Virat Kohli in the background as well, really fired up. If Bumrah is like this, you know it’s something special.
“But all in all, you’ve got to applaud the cricketers for having this kind of energy at the end of a long series. Shubman Gill is fired up, and in contrast, it’s good to have someone like Washington Sundar and KL Rahul being calm and calculated. That was fun to see, especially as it was backed up by some high-quality cricket,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports after the Australians ended the day at 9/1.
In an engaging day of Test cricket, seamer Scott Boland shone with his relentlessness by picking 4-31, as Australia bowled out India for a paltry 185. Former Australia cricketer Simon Kaitch praised the bowler for his exceptional performance in the series after he stepped in to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood.
“He’s a fan favourite, and not just at the MCG, where he’s a local legend. Here in Sydney today, he got a massive reception. His average here in Australia, I think, is just over 13.5 — it’s remarkable. What he does do well, as we’ve spoken about throughout the series, is take wickets in clumps because he gets the ball in dangerous areas early in a batsman’s innings.
“That’s why it’s no surprise to see him get a lot of players out first ball. Today, Kohli nearly got out the first ball, and Reddy was out the first ball because Boland asks questions around the top of the off-stump with a little bit of movement both ways. He’s relentless and an absolute luxury in this team, given that Josh Hazlewood’s a gun as well. This Australian attack could go down as one of the greats, if not the greatest, alongside McGrath, Warne, and Gillespie. That’s where it’s heading,” said Kaitch.
(IANS)
