Rohit Sharma had a terrible returns in the three matches he played before he was forced to sit out of the series decided in Perth. The Indian captain was dismissed on the scores of 3,6,10 3 and 9 in the five outings he had in the series.
Kohli’s numbers aren’t good either. Barring his unbeaten hundred in Perth, the batting great has been out on the scores of 5,7,11, 3,36 and 5.
Also Read: Sam Konstas-Jasprit Bumrah face-off: Latest of several player duels in Border-Gavaskar series
Rohit and Kohli’s repeated failures have largely overshadowed Shubman Gill’s shortcomings. The 25-year-old batter has played three Tests in Australia this time around and every time he has looked good to notch a good score he has thrown away his wicket. Gill has accumulated 80 runs in four innings at a paltry average of 20.00.
The bowlers haven’t done well either.
Beyond Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, no other Indian bowler’s wicket-tally in the series is in double digit.
The collective failure has meant that India trail the series 1-2 with miniscule chance of winning the series decider in Sydney.
Amid these sub-par showings, Bumrah has stood out for his consistency in picking wickets. The pace ace has been one of the best performing players from either side.
The 31-year-old, who is in the reckoning for the ICC Cricketer of the Year award 2024 and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2024, is the series’ highest wicket-taker with 31 scalps to his name. He has picked these wickets at an average of 12.73 and has an economy of 2.73. The pacer has picked 3 five-wicket hauls along the way.
Bumrah’s brilliant bowling display Down Under has meant that he currently holds the second spot on the list of bowlers with the most number of wickets in a single Border-Gavaskar series. Bumrah trails former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh by mere one wicket.
Singh, during the 2000/01 Border-Gavaskar series, derailed a formidable Australian batting line-up on multiple occasions and ended up with 32 wickets in only three matches. That performance included a hat-trick at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the first hat-trick by an Indian bowler in Tests. The spinner collected 13 wickets in the match and was one of the reason that India managed to win the Test despite a follow-on. India won the series 2-1 and Singh was rightfully adjudged the Player of the Series award.
Bumrah though might not enjoy the same fate as that of Singh.
First Published: Jan 3, 2025 5:01 PM IST
