“Showing his greatness in different ways…”: Manjrekar hails Bumrah’s performance at Lord’s

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 15 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar hailed Jasprit Bumrah’s performance across both the innings during the third Test against England at Lord’s, saying that “showing his greatness in different ways" has become a part of the bowler’s legacy.

An unfortunate dismissal of Mohammed Siraj at the hands of Shoaib Bashir, with the ball rolling back into the stumps after a landing on the pitch, marked the end of India’s stubborn resistance at Lord’s, with Ravindra Jadeja left stranded following a heartbreaking 22-run loss. India trail 1-2 in the series.

India lost the match despite dominating England for large parts of the game, with one of the standout performers being Bumrah. He took seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.

Bumrah changed the game in India’s favour in the first innings, reducing England to 271/7 from 251/4, getting wickets of skipper Ben Stokes, centurion Joe Root and all-rounder Chris Woakes quickly.

During the second innings, Bumrah struggled to get through England’s top-order despite his pace, bounce and accuracy. Nonetheless he kept going and after all-rounder Washington Sundar ran through the middle-order. Bumrah got wickets of lower-order batters Brydon Carse and Woakes.

Speaking on ‘Follow the Blues’, JioStar expert Manjrekar analysed Bumrah’s performance.

“In the first innings, Bumrah showed just how great a bowler he is. This was the kind of pitch where he could not really display his full range, so he bowled patiently and waited for opportunities. And when the moment came — in the latter half of the innings — he was ready. He picked up five wickets in the first innings on a surface that did not offer much assistance."

“Then, when Washington Sundar took four key wickets (in second innings) and India needed to wrap up England quickly, Bumrah stepped in again and delivered. That yorker to dismiss Brydon Carse is still fresh in the mind. Showing his greatness in different ways — that has become Bumrah’s legacy," he added.

Manjrekar said that India lost the match because of some “little errors", with one of them being the Rishabh Pant’s unfortunate run-out for 74, ending the 141-run partnership with KL Rahul on day three that could have no doubt gone further and given India a valuable first innings lead if it was not for a “fielding masterclass" by Stokes, who initiated the run-out.

“When I look at the turning points and the small mistakes made, I feel India lost this Test match because of those little errors. There were no major blunders — even Rishabh Pant’s run-out was just one of those minor mistakes. But this is where the brilliance of Ben Stokes comes in. He mentioned in his interview that Pant stuttered slightly, and he sensed an opportunity for a run-out. And Stokes, right in the middle of a bowling spell, pulled off a fielding masterclass. That’s the mark of a champion cricketer. Pant, perhaps, was trying to give KL Rahul a chance to get back on strike and complete his century. But like I have said, the team did not make any massive errors — it was the accumulation of small ones that made the difference in the end," he added.

England won the toss and opted to bat first. England was reduced to 44/2, but a 109-run stand between Ollie Pope (44 in 104 balls, with four boundaries) and Joe Root (104 in 199 balls, with 10 fours) and a counter-attacking 84 run stand for the eighth wicket stand between Brydon Carse (56 in 83 balls, with six fours and a six) and Jamie Smith (51 in 56 balls, with six fours) took England to 387.

Jasprit Bumrah (5/74) was the highlight for India with the ball.

In the second innings, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early, but a 61-run stand between Karun Nair (26 in 46 balls, with five fours) and KL Rahul and a 141-run stand between KL (100 in 177 balls, with 13 fours) and Rishabh Pant (74 in 112 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) took India close to England’s score.A brilliant half-century from Ravindra Jadeja (72 in 131 balls, with eight fours and a six) and lower-order contributions from Nitish Kumar Reddy (30) and Washington Sundar (23) took India to 387, with nothing separating the sides.

Chris Woakes (3/84) was the top bowler for England in this innings.

In England’s second innings, India continuously kept England under pressure, except for a 67-run fifth wicket stand between Root (40 in 96 balls, with a four) and Stokes (33 in 96 balls, with three fours). Sundar (4/22) delivered a game-changer spell, running through the middle-order and bundling out England for 192. India was set 193 to win.

During the run-chase, Team India was reduced to 82/7. However, Jadeja (61* in 181 balls, with four boundaries and a six) was not in a mood to give up. He put up resilient partnerships with the lower-order batters that put England under tension, but Mohammed Siraj’s unlucky dismissal, where the ball spun back to the stumps following its landing on the pitch hurt a million of hearts as India was bundled out for 170.

India trails 1-2 in the series. Stokes won the ‘Player of the Match’ for his handy knocks of 44 and 33 and total of five wickets in the match, including a three-wicket haul taken in the second innings taken in tandem with Jofra Archer, who also got three wickets. (ANI)

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