‘Job not finished, series isn’t over yet ‘ – Jasprit Bumrah optimistic about India’s chances after Perth win

‘Job not finished, series isn’t over yet ‘ – Jasprit Bumrah optimistic about India’s chances after Perth win. (Photo Source: BCCI/Twitter)

India’s recent and comprehensive 295-run win against Australia in the opening Test at Perth’s Optus Stadium, made them go 1-0 up in the five-match series under their stand-in skipper, Jasprit Bumrah.

Ahead of the series, India was coming from a shocking 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand at home and arrived in Australia under pressure. Missing captain Rohit Sharma and an injured Shubman Gill ahead of the first Test, with bold selections that benched spin stalwarts Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the team looked vulnerable at the start.

Australia’s Optus Stadium had been a hard fortress, never before breached in defeat. The hosts, led by Pat Cummins, started brilliantly by dismissing the visitors to just 150 runs on the first day. But the tourist captain Bumrah impressed everyone with his leadership and bowling performance, which translated from a potential defeat into a historic victory.

“It felt really good (to win). We were put under a little bit of pressure in the first innings. We were bowled out for 150. But the atmosphere in the team was, they were not under pressure. We were not feeling that we were too behind, because we had the faith in our ability that if we get quick wickets, we are in play, and we are confident of our bowling line-up, and we were able to do that. So yeah, very special feeling.

More than the 5-for, I’m very happy with the win. Because you know, we’re playing with a new side and everybody was really confident of their ability. So we had a lot of discussions. To walk the talk is always a special feeling,” Bumrah said in a video posted by BCCI.

Really proud of Harshit and Nitish: Bumrah

In the second innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli produced stellar centuries, while Bumrah himself claimed eight crucial wickets across the match and won the Player of the Match award. This win was India’s largest Test victory by runs on foreign soil. Bumrah also praised two debutants Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana for their impressive performances

“Really proud of them (Harshit and Nitish) and hopefully we can build on from strength to strength from here. Very happy for them. The calm and composure that both of them had and the ability and the faith on their ability. Because they were playing their first test but didn’t get overawed or not nervous, or wanting to take responsibility, coming to me and when asked to do the tough job, were ready to do it. Very happy and positive signs for us,” he added.

Coach Gautam Gambhir’s bold selections paid dividends. Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, and Reddy complemented Bumrah’s leadership, dismantling Australia’s batting line-up. The victory guided India to the top of the World Test Championship standings with 61.11 percentage points.

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“(Job finished?) No. The series isn’t over yet. Very happy with the beginning, but still a lot of work to be done. Yes, a good beginning. Take the positives. Sometimes learn from losses, but you learn from wins as well. You take the confidence from this and move forward,” Bumrah concluded.