IND vs ENG 2021: Consistency is key now that Jasprit Bumrah has found his groove
Jasprit Bumrah has arrived in the United Kingdom.
It was elation, relief and redemption for the pacer with a collective nine-wicket haul from both innings against England in the first game of the five-match Test series at Trent Bridge.
A crushing World Test Championship (WTC) final loss to New Zealand would have seemed a lot more personal to the Gujarat quick. Despite being put under the scanner, India's pace spearhead bounced back with an admirable spell against Joe Root & Co. in both innings.
Against England, it was a bang-bang start for Jasprit Bumrah as he prised out Rory Burns for a golden duck. It was a searing and pacy full-length delivery to send the opener packing.
He followed that up with a ball that angled into Jos Butler, who nicked one to Rishabh Pant with a half-hearted drive and walked back for zero. Stuart Broad and James Anderson were hardly a threat with the bat and were walking targets. India celebrated, and so did Jasprit Bumrah.
India did enough with the bat in the first innings, courtesy of a batting masterclass by KL Rahul. After a two-year hiatus in Test cricket, the Karnataka man announced his return with a composed and skilled fifty. Not to be left behind, Ravindra Jadeja continued his good run of form with a third consecutive fifty (the first two were against Select County XI, which was deemed a first-class game).
In reply, Joe Root put on a masterclass on how to bat in bowler-friendly conditions with a sparkling ton. However, the rest of the England batters struggled to keep up as Jasprit Bumrah was wrecker-in-chief again, this time with a fifer to boot.
It was catching practice for Pant as Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Root nicked deliveries that were angled in with precision and were length deliveries - something Jasprit Bumrah was guilty of not bowling in the WTC.
By his own admission, it was a mental adjustment more so than altering his line and lengths on the field.
Speaking during a virtual press conference held at the end of Day 4, Jasprit Bumrah said:
"Not a lot of adjustment, just the mindset adjustments, probably not looking at the end result and just being in the moment and trying to back our skills. Not a lot of changes that I have made, I am just trying to improve my game and add a few things."
Jasprit Bumrah's back with a bang but what's next for Team India?
Consistency is the need of the hour for India and Bumrah. The bowling attack, despite being potent, was a pale shadow of itself, barring the notable absence of Ravichandran Ashwin.
England are no pushovers. Their batsmen showed signs of finding form in the second innings and they should look at that display as a foundation to build on. Root, with scores of 64 and 109, has already proved to be a threat for India and might just have the series of a lifetime.
With the tour set to be a grueling one, the task for Bumrah is to stay consistent and healthy. He is back with the sort of bowling that makes him lethal in any form of cricket and will now be eager to maintain his biggest strength - adaptability to different conditions.
The end of the Tests will mean jetting off to the UAE to finish the remainder of IPL 2021 and then gearing up for the T20 World Cup.
Although the pressing demand is to continue in the same vein, there's no doubt these thoughts will be on his mind. Bumrah made that clear when he said he wasn't looking too far ahead.
"When you start to play the game of cricket, you have to believe in yourself and you want to play to win. We don't want to look too far ahead, we've got a good start, now we just want to take it session by session and hopefully take things from there," said Bumrah while replying to a query at the end of the fourth day's play.
Despite an anticlimatic finish to the first Test, the end of Bumrah's dry run is a massive positive for India. He came off an average IPL 2021 with just six wickets to show from seven games, and then went wicketless in the WTC skirmish against the Kiwis.
Jasprit Bumrah knows what he needs to do for now, the only question is whether he can continue to be the destructive force he was in the first game.