If there was any doubt, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has made it official. Jasprit Bumrah is the No.1 ranked Test bowler in the world. Bumrah dethroned South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada from the top spot after his eight-wicket haul in the first Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Former Australia pacer Damien Fleming has now labelled Bumrah as the “termin, “who is always stalking the batters.
Bumrah stood up and led from the front in the first Test against Australia as he took five wickets in the first innings to help India take a 46-run lead, despite being bundled out for 150 in the first innings. In the end, Bumrah’s second Test as a captain turned out to be memorable as India registered an emphatic 295-run win in Perth.
Damien Fleming said that Jasprit Bumrah knows his strengths, and he knows how to work on the opponents’ weaknesses.
“He’s just the Terminator, isn’t he?” Fleming told Sydney Morning Herald.
“He knows his strengths and he’s always sniffing to find that weakness. I think he does that instinctively, and it’s not a long run-up, but I can see he’s reviewed that ball, and then he’s planning the next one,” he added.
Damien Fleming recalls Bumrah’s slower ball to Shaun Marsh
While speaking to Sydney Morning Herald, Damien Fleming also recalled Bumrah’s slower ball to Shaun Marsh at the cusp of lunch break in the Melbourne Test during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“There’s that famous dismissal of Shaun Marsh at the MCG in 2018]in the over before lunch. I was commentating at the time, and I could almost pick what was going to happen, just driving him back, so his weight’s on the back foot, and then he bowls that superb slower ball and knocks him over,” he said.
“It was either going to be that slower ball or a fast yorker. So I think he is so astute, but he also now has all the skills—outswingers, inswingers, off-cutters, slower balls, excellent yorker, bouncer,” he added.
Speaking further, Fleming said, “So when you’ve got more skills, you’ve got more options. Like the Terminator, he’s always stalking the batsmen. And the batsmen know that, but they’re still unsure what’s coming. Not only does he have a wide skill set, but he executes it better than anyone in world cricket.”
India will now look to extend their lead to 2-0 when they take the field against Australia in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, beginning December 6.
