"I'm certainly not going to go and try it" - Mitchell Starc on Jasprit Bumrah's action after pacer's heroics on Day 1 of BGT 2024/25 1st Test
Australian speedster Mitchell Starc has stated that he is not surprised to see Jasprit Bumrah gaining success as a bowler on Day 1 of the opening Test against Australia in Perth. Reflecting on Bumrah's action, the left-arm pacer revealed that he would never try it as he would risk snapping his arm.
Bumrah, who is leading Team India in Perth, rattled the Australian batting unit to put their side in a position of strength. The 30-year-old's bowling masterclass yielded four wickets as the tourists reduced Australia to 67/7, trailing by 83 runs at Stumps on Day 1.
Speaking at a post-day presser, Starc reflected that Bumrah had proved on Day 1 in Perth how good he has been across formats for some time now. He said, as quoted by cricket.com.au:
"Maybe, he's obviously got a fair bit of hyperextension in, that elbow and does, things, a lot of actions, one that you do. So, there's no surprise that he's been a fantastic bowler across the formats for a long time.
"And again, his skills were on show today as to how, how good he is. So, yeah, I'm sure there's something in that release point. That’s significant to his action. It's something a lot of people can't do, so I'm not, I'm certainly not going to go and try it. I’ll probably snap."
The Ahmedabad-born cricketer's devastating spell accounted for Nathan Sweeney, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, and Pat Cummins.
"They've come out and matched us with the ball" - Mitchell Starc
Starc, who took two wickets, admitted that the pitch has been quite tricky to bat on and that both sides gave their best with the ball. He added:
"I thought we bowled quite well with perhaps (India posting) an under-par score and they've come out and matched us with the ball. We know coming to the west or playing at the Gabba, they're places you need to pitch the ball up and encourage driving because we know there's more pace and bounce in those two grounds.
"That was true again today, and both teams did that very well to encourage the shots and bring in the edges and there were catches taken."
The New South Wales bowler will head out on Day 2 with Alex Carey to help Australia add as many runs as they can.