IND vs ENG 2021: Zaheer Khan explains the reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's 13 no-balls on Day 3
Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan has proffered an explanation for Jasprit Bumrah's flurry of no-balls on Day 3 of the second India-England Test at Lord's. He said Bumrah was either missing his springy run-up a bit or got "desperate" in search of wickets and lost his shape.
Jasprit Bumrah overstepped on as many as 13 occasions on Saturday, with four of them coming in his last over of the day. James Anderson, the No. 11 batter who was looking to survive and give strike to Joe Root, had to face 10 deliveries from Bumrah in a single over, all of them either bouncers or toe-crushing yorkers.
"Although it's very difficult to explain this because it's all run-up related but we talk about rhythm and the run-up, it's possible that the stepping of your run-up, or the spot from where you push-off, that's missing a bit. And secondly, I believe that when Bumrah wasn't getting the wickets, he got a bit desperate to put in some extra effort and bowl a bit faster. But the way Bumrah bowled to Jimmy Anderson at the end, it will be interesting to see how Anderson returns the favor (chuckles)," Zaheer Khan elaborated in a chat with Cricbuzz after the day's play.
Jasprit Bumrah couldn't convert the effort into wickets and returned with figures of 26-6-79-0. No-balls aside, Bumrah was perhaps the most disciplined among India's four pacers on the day. In a way, his frugal bowling allowed Mohammed Siraj (4/94) and Mohammed Shami (2/95) to be aggressive from the other end and bag wickets for the team.
Also Read: What is the highest number of no-balls ever bowled in a Test match?
Another Jasprit Bumrah vs James Anderson battle on cards?
England eked out a 27-run lead in the first innings courtesy of a fantastic 180 not-out from skipper Joe Root. Indian batsmen will probably look to play their natural game at the start but the game will get more and more interesting as time passes.
Apart from the customary duels between the English pacers and the Indian top-order, another battle to look out for will be how James Anderson takes on Jasprit Bumrah.
The veteran England pacer doesn't usually use bouncers and yorkers even against tail-enders and relies more on his traditional seam movement. But whether his counterpart has riled Anderson up enough to take that path will certainly be a must-watch.