ENG vs IND: Jasprit Bumrah Missed The Trick On Day 4 - Wasim Jaffer
Updated - 05 Jul 2022, 05:49 PM
Former Indian player Wasim Jaffer said Jasprit Bumrah missed the trick by deploying fielders on the boundary line and allowed England to walk off with confidence on the fourth day of the fifth Test at Edgbaston.
India have almost dominated the first three days of the rescheduled Test match in the quest to win their first Test series in England since 2007. But the final two sessions of Day 4 belonged to the hosts because of their fearless batting. Barring Jasprit Bumrah, no other Indian bowler made any impact to defend the 378 on the board as England inched closer to their highest chase in Test cricket.
England dominate day four to bounce back in the game
England openers Alex Lees (56) and Zak Crawley (46) laid the foundation for the chase with their opening stand of 107. The duo had a clear intent of scoring runs at pace as England reached 100 in 20 overs.
Bumrah brought himself into the attack and cleaned up Crawley with a nip backer just before the tea break. On the other side of the break, Bumrah sent Ollie Pope packing on the first ball of the final session. Pope tickled Bumrah’s angling delivery behind the stumps and departed for a nought. In the next over of Ravindra Jadeja, Lees got run out in a mix-up with Joe Root, the latter was at the fault for his misjudged call.
England’s experienced pair of Root and Jonny Bairstow didn’t succumb to the pressure and held their nerves to keep the hosts alive in the enthralling clash. The pair was unseparated in their 150-run alliance with Root unbeaten at 76 (nine fours), and first-innings centurion Bairstow looked more composed in his 87-ball 72 (eight fours and a six).
Strike was easily rotated without any pressure: Wasim Jaffer on Jasprit Bumrah’s field placements
England finished the day at 259 for three wickets down and are 119 runs away from their target. Jaffer noted that Bumrah’s decision to put his fielders outside the circle allowed Root and Bairstow to steal singles with ease.
“He (Bairstow) doesn’t mind hitting over the top when fielders are brought in and takes singles on almost every ball when the field is spread out. There was only one catching option in slip and strike was easily rotated without any pressure,” Jaffer said on ESPNcricinfo.
“So I think Jasprit Bumrah missed a trick there because he could have challenged them later on by bringing the fielders in. If India don’t get 2-3 early wickets on Day 5, it will be really difficult for them,” he added.
Early in the day England captain Ben Stokes cleaned India’s tail-enders, who have troubled England the most in this series, to finish 4/33 with India adding 120 runs from their overnight score of 125/3.
“After all the good work that India did for the first three days, they messed it up a bit on Day 4. I think England won all three sessions. There was a lot of time left to play, so I think they could have scored 50 runs more,” Jaffer said.
The final day of the fifth Test will be intriguing to watch as a draw would be the least possible result for this humdinger.
Tagged:
India National Cricket Team Jasprit Bumrah Joe Root Jonny Bairstow Wasim Jaffer
