Ever since making his comeback to the side following his back surgery, Jasprit Bumrah had been in superb rhythm with the ball, against Ireland, then in the Asia Cup 2023, and then in the first ODI against Australia.
However, he was given his first big challenge in the 3rd ODI against Australia in Rajkot, when on a flat pitch the Aussie top-order of Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, and Steve Smith went after him.
Jasprit Bumrah was taken apart by the Aussie top-order and conceded 51 runs in his first five overs across two spells. However, the spearhead India fast bowler made a strong comeback in the game itself as in his next five overs, he conceded only 30 runs, including overs at the death, and picked up three wickets of Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey, and Glenn Maxwell.
How Jasprit Bumrah feels mentally and body-wise is key for us: Rohit Sharma
Bumrah once again showed why he’s hailed as the best death-overs bowler in the world. India captain Rohit Sharma didn’t mind Bumrah having a bad half a day. Instead, Rohit is more than happy about Jasprit Bumrah keeping his fitness level up to the mark.
“I’m pretty happy, more importantly how he (Bumrah) feels body-wise, he has got so much skill, one bad game can happen to anyone. How he feels mentally and body-wise is key for us and that’s looking good for us,” Rohit said at the post-match ceremony.
Despite India’s comeback in the latter half of Australia’s innings, the visitors managed to pile up 352 runs with their top four batters all scoring half-centuries. India in reply were bowled out for 286 runs, with Rohit top-scoring with 81 runs in 57 balls. Virat Kohli, too, scored a fifty, while Iyer, Rahul, and Jadeja all got starts, but none of them could convert it into a big score.
Australia had defeated India 2-1 in India in March in the ODI series. Now India had their revenge by winning the series by the same margin. This has now setup for an exciting clash on October 8 in Chennai with both teams opening their World Cup 2023 campaigns against each other.
