"His spell was fantastic; he got us back into the game with his two quick wickets" - Jasprit Bumrah heaps praise on Mohammed Shami
Despite finishing with a five-wicket haul, Jasprit Bumrah has credited his fast-bowling partner Mohammed Shami for getting India right back into the final Test in Cape Town. The tourists finished the second day on 57 for 2, with a lead of 70 runs.
South Africa seemed to be running away with the match in the middle session as Keegan Petersen (72 off 166) and Temba Bavuma (28 off 52) were scoring runs at a fair clip. It was then that Shami struck twice in the same over to reduce the Proteas to 159 for 6.
Hailing that 56th over as a major turning point, Bumrah spoke highly of Shami’s seam presentation as well as the way he always charges in and gives his all for the team. The 28-year-old further expressed fondness at bowling in tandem with Shami.
“His spell was fantastic; he got us back into the game with his two quick wickets. Because at that time, not a lot was happening and he really generated good rhythm, he got control, and he started running in and was bowling at high pace as well. So his control has gotten better over the years and it’s very heartening to see his seam position is one of the best in the world. He’s got a lot of skill, but he has understood his game a lot better now, he’s trying to utilize his game and skills to the best of his potential," Jasprit Bumrah, who returned figures of 5 for 42, said at the post-day press conference.
“So that’s very, very heartening to see – whatever the scenario is, whenever he runs in and gives it his all for the team, that’s a very heartening sight for us. And for me as well, to bowl alongside him, whenever he is going through a tough spell or good spell, we have a lot of conversations going on and that really is a great sight to see,” he added.
The 31-year-old Shami first induced a thick edge from Bavuma which skipper Virat Kohli – diving low to his left at second slip – pouched to complete 100 catches in Test cricket. Then, two balls later, he got Kyle Verreynne to poke at another of his away-swingers and Rishabh Pant snaffled it inches from the ground.
“It will be very important for us to have good partnerships” – Jasprit Bumrah on India’s Day 3 plan
After openers KL Rahul (10 off 22) and Mayank Agarwal (7 off 15) were again back in the hut quickly, senior pros Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India finish the day unscathed.
The wounds of South Africa comfortably chasing down 240 in the previous Test are still fresh, and head coach Rahul Dravid will want one of his middle-order batters to make it big tomorrow. Asked what would be a safe target to set, Jasprit Bumrah couldn’t pinpoint a number but underlined the need to string together healthy partnerships.
“There is no magic number that I can say right now. But yes, we’ll have to assess the wicket quickly – obviously, we’ve bowled on it, we’ve batted once and we’re batting for the second time. So it’s a new-ball wicket, yes, it is a little difficult, there is some seam movement and swing with the new ball, and as soon as the ball gets older, the seam goes down, it gets relatively easier," Bumrah stated.
“So we’ve seen that trend when we were bowling as well, so we’re trying to do whatever best we can and try to stitch a partnership and then capitalise on it tomorrow. It will be very important for us to have good partnerships and put up a good total, so that we can fight in the game,” he elaborated.
Pujara is batting on 9 off 31, while Kohli has looked in complete command en route 14 off 39. The third day is all set to decide the third and final Test.