'I was trying to..': Jasprit Bumrah Reflects on Overcoming Odds and Inspiring His Team to Victory

Jasprit Bumrah has scripted history in only his second assignment as the captain of Team India. Bumrah led India from the front in the absence of Rohit Sharma and left the history books modified. The victory over Australia by 295 runs is India's biggest-ever win in terms of run margin over the Aussies outside home. Moreover, it is Australia's first-ever loss at the Optus stadium.

Jasprit Bumrah On How He Marshalled His Troop Against Australia 

With the odds that stacked against India India, a victory in Perth seemed unlikely but the boys brought their best to squash the hosts to take 1-0 lead. Following the culmination of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, Jasprit Bumrah said on Monday that he relishes absorbing the pressure in tight situations as captain and bowler which can make the job of his less experienced colleagues much easier.

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The ace pacer was India’s standout bowler with an eight-wicket haul in the Perth Test, shaping India’s humongous 295-run drubbing of Australia.

“Whenever the tough scenarios come, I look at myself to see how I can contribute, even when I'm not the captain. So, whenever tough scenarios are there, I look at answers — if I'm going to bowl at this moment, what can I do? I automatically want to put myself in tough scenarios,” said Bumrah in the post-match press conference here.

His fighting spirit found resonance in young bowlers like Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy as all contributed at crucial junctures at the Optus Stadium.

“I was trying to put myself in that tough scenario to make the job a little bit easier for the new guys coming in. Because, you know, it's not very easy in the first tour to take a lot of responsibility.

“So, I was trying to do that and very happy to be on the positive side,” he added.

Despite the historic win, Bumrah will have to vacate the top seat when Rohit Sharma returns for the Adelaide Test to lead India.

So, how will he tackle a rather personal tough spot? Bumrah offered a cheeky reply.

“I'm not going to tell him that I'm going to leave (captaincy),” he said.

Going more matter of fact, the 30-year-old said: “I said that in the previous press conference as well, he's the captain and he's done a phenomenal job. I was filling in for him.

“I had discussions when he was in India, you know, discussing how we are shaping up. But, yeah, But, yeah, I'm going to help him in whatever capacity I can,” he noted.

However, Burmah was quite chuffed to see his side responding to a marshy situation after getting bundled out for 150 in the first innings.
The Indian bowlers struck back to skittle the Aussies for 104 in their first essay.

“I am very proud of the team. We were put under pressure in the first innings when we were bowled out for 150. But then, you know, the team showed character and didn't lose belief. So, that is something that will be really special for us.

“Obviously, in this game, there are a lot of positives for us. You know, we scored a lot of runs in the second innings. New guys coming in, also chipping in with a lot of runs. Of course, Virat scoring a 100 as well is a great sign for us,” he added.

So, what was the plan of the Indian bowling unit to be successful on the Perth pitch? “There was some health on the wicket. So, I want to make the batters play as much as I can because the new ball is crucial over here. So, with the wicket having dents in it, the ball would seam around.” Bumrah said the key for his bowlers was not to get desperate to bag wickets even in helpful conditions.

“Sometimes when you are bowled out for a lower score, you can be a little too desperate and try too much to get wickets. When you try too much here, it doesn't really help and the run scoring goes high. So, we had to be nice and disciplined.” The 30-year-old pacer was delighted to see his colleagues adjusting to the Perth length very quickly to make an impact.
“Usually in Perth, there could be a scenario when we come from India, you tend to bowl a little short because you can get excited by the bounce and you can't find the length. It looks good when you bowl a back of length delivery and the batsman gets beaten, but the batsman is still there.

“So, you have to find the right length. We were focusing on our strength. We as a bowling unit got a lot of dismissals through LBW and caught behind. So, yeah, we realised that, you have to stick to your strengths and find the right length and we were able to do that,” he explained.

However, Bumrah reminded the team that they needed to start afresh in the second Test since it would be the Pink Ball Test, starting from December 6 at Adelaide.

“Adelaide might be totally different. It's a pink ball. So, yes, you can take the confidence from here. But, again, you have to start from zero. You have to build on this confidence.

“You have to take learnings from this game as well. So we're going to take it in our stride and, you know, put our best foot forward,” he noted. 

(With inputs from PTI)