India vs England: Broad praises Bumrah for 'spectacular' use of reverse swing, describes Pope’s dismissal as ‘iconic’
India vs England: Broad praises Bumrah for 'spectacular' use of reverse swing, describes Pope’s dismissal as ‘iconic’
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Jasprit Bumrah earned widespread praise after his destructive haul of 6/45 helped India collect a big first innings lead over England in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. The six-for, his career-best performance at home, also put the hosts in pole position to pull off a series-leveling victory at the ACA-VDCA Stadium.
Read | Bumrah ‘ripped the heart out of the England batting lineup’: Cook
Among those hailing Bumrah for his remarkable performance, in which the 30-year-old put up a masterclass in the art of reverse swing, was Stuart Broad. The England pace legend, who retired from all forms of the game after last year’s Ashes, hailed Bumrah for making ‘spectacular’ use of the ball that had started reversing on the second day.
“Subtle reverse swing is the most dangerous weapon in the game. It’s not always used so spectacularly tho,” Broad, who retired as the fifth-most successful Test bowler with 604 scalps, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Subtle reverse swing is the most dangerous weapon in the game. It’s not always used so spectacularly tho…#Bumrah #INDvENG
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) February 3, 2024
Bumrah had made similar gains in the first Test in Hyderabad, where he used reverse swing to great effect to snare six wickets across two innings, including 4/41 in England’s second outing where they ended up scoring 420. On Saturday, Bumrah collected his 10th Test five-for and ended up becoming the quickest Indian pacer — and the second-fastest from Asia after Waqar Younis — to 150 Test wickets in the process.
Read | Bumrah does a Bumrah once again to hide India’s batting frailties
Among the standout moments from the second day’s play was Bumrah’s searing yorker to castle Ollie Pope — who had struck a game-changing 196 in Hyderabad — which Broad described as “iconic” in a separate post.
Iconic https://t.co/RVjCQhH0TT
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) February 3, 2024
Besides Pope, Bumrah accounted for the wickets of star batter Joe Root, captain Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Hartley and James Anderson. His six-for helped India bowl England out for 253, giving them a 143-run lead that could prove crucial in their quest for a series-leveling victory in Vizag before the action shifts to Rajkot.
India would then ride on a sparkling century from Shubman Gill to post 255 in their second innings on Sunday, setting England an improbable 399 to win.
