Jasprit Bumrah becomes fourth Indian to register Test duck on birthday

Jasprit Bumrah becomes fourth Indian to register Test duck on birthday (Source: Twitter/X)

India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah celebrated his 31st birthday on the opening day’s play of the Pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide on December 6. The game began with the visitors winning the toss and electing to bat first. The visitors lost Yashasvi Jaiswal on the very first ball before a 69-run partnership between KL Rahul and Shubman Gill steadied the wobbling ship.

However, a brilliant spell of bowling from the speedster Mitchell Starc had the mighty Indians in tatters by the end of the first innings. India went down to 81/5 from 141/8 before Bumrah walked out to bat at No.10. The right-arm pacer was looking good initially as he complimented the young Nitish Kumar Reddy from one end, as the duo stitched a 35-run stand.

However, after facing seven deliveries, Bumrah edged a full-length delivery from skipper Pat Cummins to Usman Khawaja at first slip. The Ahmedabad-born walked back with the scorecard reading 176/9, becoming only the fourth Indian to bag a duck in Test cricket on birthday.

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Syed Kirmani, a former wicketkeeper-batter, was the first Indian to register a duck on his birthday – in the 1978 Kolkata Test against West Indies on his 29th birthday. Venkatapathy Raju scored a Test duck in England on his 27th birthday during the 1996 tour at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge.

Before Bumrah, Ishant Sharma scored a duck on his birthday in the Southampton Test against England in the 2018 tour as Ben Stokes’ skiddy delivery struck the lanky bowler on the pads, and the umpire ruled him out.

Indian players to get a duck on their birthday in Tests