ENG vs IND 2018: Test cricket Is All About Patience And Consistency: Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah has put India on the brink of winning the third England vs India Test at Trent Bridge.

Before the game had started, India skipper Virat Kohli could not contain his excitement while he revealed that Bumrah had regained full fitness. And the pacer did not take long to show why his captain was so thrilled to have him back in the Test side.

Bumrah took his second five-wicket haul in Tests to put India on brink of victory against England at Trent Bridge. England were 311/9 at the end of fourth day’s play in pursuit of 521.

Four of Bumrah’s five wickets came in the final session of the fourth day. The pacer dismissed England captain Joe Root in the first session to put India on top. However, he had to toil hard to get on the wicket-taker’s list once again. But when he finally took a wicket, the match turned in India’s favour. His second wicket of the innings proved to be the most important one.

Bumrah dismissed Jos Buttler, who scored his maiden century in the match, to break the stubborn 169-run stand between the batsman and Ben Stokes. He later went on to dismiss Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad. It looked like India would wrap up the game inside four days but James Anderson and Adil Rashid held on to push the game into the final day.

Speaking after the day, Bumrah said winning and not how long does it take to go there matter.

“It doesn’t matter if we win in four days or five. As far as we win, it is fine,” he told reporters.

It was also Bumrah’s first match of the series. Bumrah has missed all of India’s matches in England before this match – 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Tests – after injuring his left thumb in the first T20I against Ireland in Dublin.

Bumrah, who arrived on the scene as a white-ball specialist further said he is used to bowling longer spells with the red-ball.

“When I made my first-class debut, my first spell was of 10 overs,” he said. “I was always used to bowling lots of overs in Ranji Trophy. When I was injured I was working on my fitness. I was always in touch with our trainers — whenever I come I should be in a good space.”

Bumrah is clear about his T20 and Test plans, belying the fact that he is only in his fourth Test.

“In white-ball cricket things are different — over there you outsmart the batsman; in Test cricket, it’s all about patience and consistency. That was my main focus today. You can’t blast the batsmen out. I was looking to always challenge the batsmen with good lengths and good line. In the end it was a good day. I got the edge.”

When asked about how he managed to dismiss Buttler, Bumrah said:

“We’ve played together for MI in IPL, so I’ve bowled a little bit to him in the nets, but not a lot. It’s always an interesting competition because he’s an attacking player. He’s an important player for their team as well. If he gets a good start, he keeps on going and it could create problems. I’ve got him out 2-3 times in IPL and in the nets as well. I was just focusing on that… I have a clear plan, a clear head.

“Nothing is easy… The hard work we do away from the camera is what bears results on days like these,” he added.