The Hat-trick Belongs To Virat Kohli As Much As It Belongs To Jasprit Bumrah, Feels Harbhajan Singh

Jasprit Bumrah became the third Indian to claim a Test hat-trick when he dismantled West Indies batting single-handedly in Jamaica. Skipper Virat Kohli played a crucial role insisting Bumrah to take a review to complete his hattrick. Discarded India cricketer Harbhajan Singh feels the hat-trick belong to Virat Kohli as much as it does to Bumrah.

Jasprit Bumrah single-handedly demolished West Indies batting after India rode on a century from Hanuma Vihari and a fifty from Ishant Sharma to post 416 runs. Bumrah, who was coming from the back of a fifer exploded once again at Sabina Park.

He reduced the host to half for just only 22 runs including a hattrick. He eventually finished the day with a six-wicket haul to have West Indies at 87 for seven. The young fast bowler became the third Indian after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan to claim a Test hat-trick.

Read More: Ian Bishop, Sunil Gavaskar Slam Jasprit Bumrah’s Critics

The three consecutive wickets included Darren Bravo, Shahmar Brooks, and Roston Chase. While Bravo was caught behind, Bumrah got Brooks and Chase out on LBWs both after reviews. While Bravo and Brooks were automatically given out by the umpire, it was Virat Kohli who insisted on taking the review to get Chase out. Harbhajan Singh; the first India to claim a Test hat-trick, said that the hat-trick belonged to both Kohli and Bumrah.

“This hat-trick belongs to Virat as much as it belongs to Bumrah. The bowler wasn’t convinced but the skipper had a gut feeling. What if Virat wouldn’t have gone for that DRS? It was a brilliant call by the skipper which complemented his magnificent effort,” Harbhajan told PTI.

Read More: “I Hope My Dad Is Proud” – Hanuma Vihari After Maiden Test Ton

Furthermore, Harbhajan Singh went to the past in 2001 when he claimed an outstanding hat-trick against Australia in Kolkata. The Turbanator said that without Sadagopalan Ramesh’s help he wouldn’t have picked three consecutive wickets.

“I remember that I discussed with Dada (Sourav Ganguly) and we decided to keep it on stumps and try for a third leg before but Warne flicked it.

“Now to be honest, Ramesh wasn’t the most athletic of the guys in that team. Yet at forward short-leg, he pulled off that stunner with a less than split-second reaction time. Whenever I have later met Ramesh, I told him, ‘buddy my hat-trick belongs to you’,” Harbhajan fondly recollected.

India will Jasprit Bumrah to keep up his excellent work as they look to make a strong start to the ICC World Test Championship. Besides, with 1-0 up in the series, they will be desperate to end the tour on a high.