After Jasprit Bumrah took 8 wickets in the first Test in Perth, India defeated Australia by 295 runs and took a 1-0 lead. In his spells, the bowler looked unplayable at times and it was difficult for Australia to predict where the next run would come from.
Talking about how to deal with Bumrah, former Australian cricketer Ricky Pointing said, “I charge him every ball, I run down the wicket, I’ll hit him on the head. It’s a joke, but I’ll try to be active and put pressure on the bowler.” I’ll react to the ball, but I’ll try to score. Like I said, the reason he’s so good is that he doesn’t let you score. The other side is great The batsmen don’t let the bowlers bowl like that, that’s the way I approach it.”
“It’s a pressure building,” Ponting said. “Kurtly Ambrose was the same, Glenn McGrath was the same. Like any great fast bowler, they make it difficult to score. You just don’t score over him (Bumrah).
After taking 400 wickets, Bumrah has the second best average in international cricket after Joel Garner at 20.88. The tally and match-winning spell in Perth has sparked a debate in the cricketing world where Bumrah stands among the game’s all-time greats.
Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting told the ICC, “I think he is definitely India’s greatest fast bowler.” “Many great players before him did not play as much in all three formats. I can raise my hand and look at people sitting back and say that in T20 cricket, ODI cricket and Test match cricket, he is obviously the best now. It’s not all about wickets. It’s about performing at a high level for a long time. We saw the other day when he gets the right conditions, how good he can be. “