Twitter Reactions: India’s pace battery drains Australia down as Jasprit Bumrah bags five in Perth Test

AUS vs IND. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Ace pacer and India captain Jasprit Bumrah continued his rampaging run of form at the Optus Stadium in Perth as he picked up his fifth wicket in Australia’s first innings with his first ball on Day 2. The speedster dismissed wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey to registered his 11th five-wicket haul in red-ball internationals.

Australia would have hoped for Carey to add some valuable runs on Saturday, November 23, as the hosts were 83 runs behind India, with three wickets in the bank at the start of Day 2. However, Bumrah was on the money on the first ball as he got one to seam away from the southpaw from round the wicket. The moving delivery took a regulation edge and nestled safely into the hands of Rishabh Pant.

On Day 1, Bumrah was almost unplayable on a spicy pitch as he made the star Australian batters dance to his tunes. He got the wicket of debutant Nathan McSweeney in his second over and didn’t look back. The right-arm seamer went on to pick up the wickets of Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, and Pat Cummins to put the home side on the back foot.

Starc, Hazlewood help Australia reach three-figure mark

After Bumrah drew first blood on Day 2 for India, Harshit Rana chipped in by taking the wicket of Nathan Lyon with a short delivery. The ball hit the off-spinner’s glove and lobbed up to KL Rahul, who took a simple catch at slip.

Also Read: Bumrah has been fantastic across all formats: Mitchell Starc

After having Australia at 79/9, India would have hoped to get the Pat Cummins-led side out quickly. However, it wasn’t to be, as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood provided gritty resistance. The two fast bowlers frustrated the Indian bowlers by surviving a fiery spell from Bumrah. Harshit got involved in a fun banter with his former Kolkata Knight Riders teammate Starc and started bowling considerably quicker. However, the debutant couldn’t get the breakthrough. Australia reached the three-figure mark as their seamers added the biggest partnership in the innings.

Finally, it was Harshit Rana who helped with the final nail in the coffin, as Starc miscued one in the air, handing a simple catch to the wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. The hosts were bundled out for 104, handing India a 46-run lead at the end. Bumrah’s five and Rana’s three wickets became the highlight for the Indian bowling unit throughout the innings.

Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to Jasprit Bumrah’s epic five-for: