India-Australia Melbourne Test: Exhausted Jasprit Bumrah raises 'half-century' after six years

As India, after sniffing a chance midway through the fourth day’s play during the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), ran into the dour last wicket pair of Australia, the one sight that stuck out sore for Indians was of a tired and exhausted Jasprit Bumrah who could not continue for another over in what was perhaps his sixth spell of the day.

The right-arm pacer, who also picked his 200th wicket on Sunday, had by then already bowled 48.4 overs in the match (including 28.4 in the first innings), the most he has bowled in a Test match in six years. 

The workload has been immense on the right-arm pace bowler who was given a break at that point but was summoned again towards the end of the day to roll his arm over for a burst of three overs and then one over with the new ball. He ended fourth day's play having bowled 52.4 overs.

Even as he went about to pick the ball in the field after one of the last pair had hit a shot for a single, his body looked stiff as he could barely bend down. 

By the time he came to bowl the last over of the day with the new ball, he was already done.

Bumrah’s success and longevity over the years has been built on other Indians bowling well. So well that he has had to come only for short, wicket-taking spells. There have been the likes of Mohammed Shami, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj among others who have allowed the captain to not stretch him much. All these bowlers are top notch and have either skills or grit to keep coming at the batsmen and win a match on their own.

Thanks to the presence of other match-winning bowlers, Bumrah has also had the luxury of picking and choosing key matches for India and has avoided burning himself out.

This can be buttressed by the fact the ongoing MCG Test is only the first time in close to three years that he has had to bowl over 40 overs in a match. The last time he bowled over 40 overs was against South Africa in Cape Town when he sent down 40.3 overs. 

Interestingly, the MCG Test provides only the third instance in his career that he has been forced to bowl over 50 overs in a Test. He is just short of bowling three more balls to make this his longest bowling stint in a Test match.

He bowled 53 against England at the Oval in 2018. Then he bowled 51.2 overs at Perth in December, 2018. Since then, he has not bowled even close to 50 overs in any Test match.

Including the MCG Test, Bumrah has bowled 140.4 overs in this series so far, the most from either side. Mohammed Siraj has thrown down 128.1 overs, the second most from either side.

During the previous tour, Mohammed Siraj had bowled the most number of overs for India. He bowled 134.2 overs although it was only in three Test matches. Bumrah had bowled 117.4 overs in three Tests in that 2020-21 series.

Tags : Border Gavaskar Trophy, India cricket, Australia, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, MCG, Fourth Test, 200th wicket