"Jasprit Bumrah was a bit odd, a bit Weird at times.."- Mark Wood sledges Indian pacer

England pacer Mark Wood lauded Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah for his exceptional bowling performance in the first test between the two teams. Mark Wood expressed that he lacked a fellow seamer to discuss bowling strategies with during the series opener.

The Ben Stokes-led team defeated the Men in Blue by 28 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The visiting team made a remarkable comeback despite conceding a 190-run lead. England took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the five-match red-ball series.

Jasprit Bumrah Didn’t Do Me Any Favours – Mark Wood

Mark Wood stated that Jasprit Bumrah didn’t make it easy for him with his genius bowling. Wood emphasized the absence of communication with another seamer like James Anderson and the challenge of adapting without such discussions.

“Bumrah didn’t do me any favors by bowling like a genius. That was tough! It was a bit odd, a bit weird at times. Usually at points during the game, I’d think ‘I might bowl here’ but the spin is doing the damage,” Wood said.

“I said to Jimmy [Anderson] that I found it more bizarre that I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I was sort of working it out as I went along. Usually, if Jimmy is bowling a spell he can say to me ‘This worked well’, or ‘What about this?’ You are talking to the captain and not knowing how it’s going to go,” he added.

England opted for a spin-heavy strategy in the team, with Mark Wood as the sole pacer. Wood went wicketless in the match as the English spinners secured all wickets. The right-arm pacer bowled 17 overs in the first innings and only eight overs in the second innings.

Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah recorded bowling figures of 4/41 in 16.1 overs during England’s second innings. Bumrah also bagged two wickets for 28 runs in the first innings. However, Mohammed Siraj was unable to secure any wickets in both innings of the match.

That Was A Bit Weird – Mark Wood

Mark Wood revealed that Captain Ben Stokes mentioned he would bowl just one over with the new ball. Wood stated that he found the communication about his role in the bowling lineup a bit weird.

“When we were at the ground, he said probably one or two. I mean, I thought I may not even open the bowling second innings. But it was like ‘one over; that’s it’. So that was a bit weird. Especially when the captain says you’re going to bowl one over with the new ball and it was a bit like, right, I’ll practice one over with the new ball,” Wood further stated.

The 34-year-old pacer could be rested for the second Test to manage his workload. James Anderson or Ollie Robinson is likely to spearhead the bowling attack in the upcoming match, which is scheduled to commence on February 2 in Visakhapatnam.

Also read: ‘He’s one of the best players, but…’ – Mark Wood’s clear take on Virat Kohli’s unavailability