West Indies and away swing. It’s a combination we have seen before from Jasprit Bumrah. In August 2019, Bumrah produced a red-ball spell for the ages. 8-4-7-5, his figures read. The scoreboard tells you it was an incredible spell. But it wouldn’t tell you is how he unleashed a new weapon: the ball that moves away from the right-hander.
For most of his career he had the natural inswinger, one that his unique action naturally enabled. But that day in Antigua, he demolished West Indies with this delivery he had been honing behind the scenes. We had seen it once famously against Keaton Jennings in England, but that was the day he brought it out consistently. “I used to bowl mainly the inswinger earlier, but the more Test matches I’ve played, I’ve gotten more confident to bowl the outswinger, especially since England. I am always trying to evolve,” Bumrah had said back then.
Fast forward to 2024, and the away swinger made a special appearance in Barbados on the day of the T20 World Cup final. In his first over, he produced the near perfect delivery that left Reeza Hendricks beaten and bewildered. The ball angled in, but the seam was pointing outward to the gully region. It left the right-hander bamboozled as he leaned forward. The bail was trimmed. And what we got as a celebration was the typical Bumrah shrug.
SIMPLY UNPLAYABLE BY BUMRAH! 🤩🎳#JaspritBumrah cleans up #ReezaHendricks with a superb delivery and 🇮🇳 start on a brilliant note! 🙌🏻#T20WorldCupFinal | #INDvsSA | LIVE NOW pic.twitter.com/RJyerWvjuP
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 29, 2024
It is a good time to revisit what Ravi Shastri shared during one of the many rain breaks during the semifinal between India and England. “The biggest compliment for Jasprit Bumrah came in 2019 when he toured West Indies. He dismantled the side through two Tests. The great Andy Roberts came to meet him, and he said, ‘You could’ve taken the new ball in our team.’ There’s no bigger compliment than that.”
In the age of social media fanwars, it sometimes feels like Bumrah is an anomaly. Anyone who loves cricket, would find it hard to not admire the genius he brings to the cricket field. For India, he is a blessing.
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