Allan Border Commends 'Extraordinary' Bumrah After Indian Fast Bowler Reaches 50 Wickets in Australia
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Brisbane, Dec 16 (NationPress) Former Australia Test captain Allan Border has praised star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, comparing him to the legendary West Indies bowler Malcolm Marshall, asserting that he has never witnessed anyone like Bumrah, who rarely concludes a spell without claiming a wicket.
Continuing his impressive form in 2024, Jasprit Bumrah reached an important milestone by becoming the second Indian bowler, following Kapil Dev, to secure 50 Test wickets in Australia.
This achievement occurred when he dismissed Mitchell Starc on the third day of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Notably, since the start of the 20th century, no bowler with at least 20 wickets in Australia has maintained a superior bowling average compared to Bumrah's outstanding 17.82.
Bumrah recorded remarkable figures of 6-76, as the Australian team lost their last three wickets for a mere 40 runs on the third day of the Gabba Test on Monday.
"I can't accurately compare him to Marshall since I never faced Bumrah, but just watching him, there is not much difference (between them). Bumrah is extraordinary. He rarely bowls a spell without taking a wicket. He is unique," Border stated in an interview with News Corp.
"Due to his bowling action, he releases the ball later. And he consistently smiles. He can outsmart a batsman three times in succession and still smile. I have never encountered anyone like him," he added.
Earlier on Day 2, the 31-year-old pace sensation notched his third Test five-wicket haul in Australia. Among Indian bowlers, only Kapil Dev has more five-wicket hauls in Australia, with a total of five, while Anil Kumble ranks second with four five-wicket hauls on Australian soil.
This marked Bumrah's 12th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and his eighth in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia), making him the first Indian to achieve this feat. Bumrah surpassed Kapil Dev's record of seven five-wicket hauls.
With 50 wickets on Australian turf, Bumrah is well-positioned to exceed Kapil Dev's record of 51 wickets in Australia. He is also on track to break the record for the most wickets taken in a single edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In the current series, he has claimed 18 wickets with two matches remaining, putting him on pace to surpass Harbhajan Singh's record of 32 wickets in the three-Test series in India in 2001.
