The third Test between India and England, played at Lord’s in London, is hung in balance thanks to Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul in the first inning,s which helped India bundle out England for 387. This was Bumrah’s 15th Test five-wicket haul and, in the process, got his name on the Lord’s Honours Board for the first time in his career. His 5/74 in 27 overs included five maidens, and he broke Kapil Dev’s (12) record for most five-fors by an Indian in overseas Tests with his 13th five-wicket haul away from home.
When Mohammed Siraj passed on the ball to Bumrah to celebrate his milestone, the Indian ace pacer had a muted celebration, which led to speculations about him being unhappy with the proceedings. Clearing all the air, Bumrah said he was too ‘tired’ to celebrate.
“The reality is that I was tired. There was no happiness factor missing. I bowled for a long time, and sometimes I get tired,” said a satisfied Bumrah with a smile during the press conference after the end of Day 2.
“I’m not 21-22 anymore that I’ll jump around. I was happy I contributed—other than that, I just wanted to get back to my mark and bowl the next ball,” he added.
Bumrah could only manage to pick just a solitary wicket of Harry Brook on the first day but ended up taking four big scalps on the following day.
When asked what adjustments he had made, Bumrah said, “There were not many technical changes that I made from yesterday (Day 1). The wicket was a little on the slower side and sometimes the edges don’t carry but we always knew that with the heat going on, when the wicket gets softer, it will get faster. It did quicken up a little bit,” he said.
“Nothing massively that I changed. Obviously, you want to hit the top of off-stump in Test cricket, the rule doesn’t change. You try to swing the ball and nip it. That’s common,” added Bumrah.
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“It feels really special you know, we don’t come here very often. We don’t play a lot of Test matches here. We come here maybe every four years. So, you never know how many matches you’ll get to play here. As a child, you see a lot of Test cricket played here. Now, being on the honours board feels good. I was excited to play at Lord’s.
