Jasprit Bumrah creates history, becomes the first Indian pacer to achieve Number 1 Test Ranking

Jasprit Bumrah returned to Test cricket after a year and a half during the tour of South Africa where he took a six-fer in the second innings of the Cape Town Test and also a four-fer in the First Test. He has impressed everyone in the Test series against England with another six-for during the first innings of the second Test. The Indian pacer also took a four-fer during the second innings of the first Test. As a result, he has climbed to the No.1 spot in the ICC Test Bowling rankings.

Jasprit Bumrah becomes the fourth Indian bowler to reach the pinnacle of Test bowling rankings and the first Indian pacer to do so. The other three bowlers who have achieved this feat are spinner; Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Bishan Singh Bedi. Jasprit Bumrah has played 34 Tests and has taken 155 wickets in 65 innings at an excellent average of 20.19 with 10 five-wicket hauls to his name. The match figures of 9/91 in the second Test helped him claim the top spot from teammate Ravichandran Ashwin who dropped to No.3 after taking just three wickets in the second Test against England.

India won the second Test against England by a massive 106 runs and now have levelled the series 1-1. Jasprit Bumrah was elected as the Player of The Match for his terrific performance with the ball on a batting-friendly track in Vizag. He also took six wickets in the first Test match which included a four-fer in the second innings on a turning Hyderabad pitch.

The current top three Bowlers in the ICC Test rankings are Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada and Ravichandran Ashwin. One of the best things about Bumrah’s bowling is that he has taken wickets on all kinds of pitches and has been lethal against all the opponents. He has a point rating of 881 which is 30 points clear of Kagiso Rabada who is at No.2 in the ICC Test Bowling rankings.

Jasprit Bumrah Has The Best Average After Taking 150 Test Wickets

Jasprit Bumrah has another massive feat to boast as he has recorded the best average after taking 150 wickets among players who have played cricket after World War 1. Bumrah averages 20.19 after taking 155 Test wickets and is ahead of legends like Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose, Jim Laker, Glenn McGrath and Allan Donald.

The Indian speedster was out of the game for a long time nursing a back injury and missed a lot of cricket including the Asia Cup 2022, the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, IPL 2023 and the World Test Championship Final 2023. Since his return to the game, he has shown some spectacular performance in all formats. He took 20 wickets in 11 games at an average of 18.65 during the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023.

India and England are currently levelled at 1-1 in the ongoing five-match Test series. Jasprit Bumrah is currently the highest wicket-taker in the series with 15 wickets to his name at an average of 10.67. The third Test of the series will commence on February 15 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.