Bumrah Records Expensive Figures in Fourth Test

MANCHESTER: Jasprit Bumrah, India’s leading pace bowler, experienced a notable and unwanted milestone on Saturday during the fourth Test of the five-match series against England at Old Trafford.

Bumrah, in his 48th Test for India, struggled against the England batsmen, resulting in him conceding over a hundred runs in a single innings for the first occasion in his career.

The right-arm fast bowler claimed two wickets while giving away 112 runs across his 32 overs. This performance exceeded his previous most expensive figures of 4/99, which occurred against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy the previous year.

This match also marked the second time Bumrah has bowled more than 30 overs in an innings. The other instance was also against England in 2021, where he bowled 36 overs in Chennai.

Jasprit Bumrah’s difficult performance with the ball contributed to India’s struggles, as they conceded over 600 runs in a Test innings for the first time in 11 years. Ben Stokes’s impressive 141-run innings propelled England to a significant total of 669.

The last time India allowed more than 600 runs in a Test innings was in 2014 against New Zealand in Wellington, highlighted by Brendon McCullum’s triple century, along with centuries from BJ Watling (124) and Jimmy Neesham (137*).

Consequently, the home team has gained control of the Manchester Test, establishing a substantial first-innings lead of 311 runs.

Joe Root was the leading scorer for the home side with a remarkable 150, followed by captain Stokes with 141.

Right-arm pacer Chris Woakes further compounded India’s difficulties by dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks in the initial over of their second innings.

At the time of this report, the visiting team stood at 36/2 after 12 overs, with captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul remaining unbeaten on 26 and nine, respectively.