"There was no inkling that he was going to bowl that 120kph cutter"- Ollie Robinson on Jasprit Bumrah's change-ups during IND vs ENG 2nd Test
England pacer Ollie Robinson lauded star Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for using his variations wisely in the second Test of the ongoing series in Visakhapatnam.
Robinson recalled the moment when the partnership between Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley that had begun to frustrate the Indian team in the fourth innings. However, just when it seemed like England would counter-attack and put the pressure back on the hosts, Bumrah stepped up.
In his column for Wisden.com, here's what Ollie Robinson wrote about Jasprit Bumrah's well-disguised slower ball to Ben Foakes that broke the partnership wth Hartley:
"The way he (Bumrah) changes his pace and the different balls that he’s got when the game’s meandering along, Foakesy and Hartley in the last game were playing really nicely in the fourth innings and were playing his on-pace ball fairly well, there was no inkling that he was going to bowl that 120kph cutter that got Foakes."
Bumrah also dismissed Hartley by rattling his stumps and that proved to be the final piece of action from the second Test as India won the game by 106 runs.
Ollie Robinson on learning from Jasprit Bumrah using T20 skills
Ollie Robinson claimed that he could seriously consider adding such variations to his repertoire to keep the batters guessing even in the longest format.
On this, he stated:
"His art of surprise and execution is something that I wouldn’t have practiced as much before. I practice smashing top-of-off stuff and trying to move the ball either way. I’ve never really thought about using my T20 skills in a Test match that often."
It wasn't the first time that Jasprit Bumrah had foxed a batter with a slower delivery in a Test match. Robinson himself had been trapped in the pads similarly by Bumrah during India's famous Test win at Lord's back in 2021.
The English pacer is yet to play a game in the five-match series. The third Test begins on February 15 in Rajkot.