Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Jasprit Bumrah's 6-33 at Melbourne in 2018 is among the top three performances by India bowlers over the last 10 years in Australia.
India's Test side is one of the rare teams to win a series in Australia not just once but twice in their last two tours to the country. They won by a margin of 2-1 on both occasions and much of it was possible because of their depth in the pace bowling department.Â
India's bowlers were able to get 20 wickets more regularly than ever before, which was one of the reasons for their series win both times. While the game is a team sport, individual brilliance inspires their side to get past the finish line.
So on that note, we will discuss the three bowling spells by India's bowlers in Australia in the last 10 years that stand tall.
Jasprit Bumrah, 6-33, Melbourne, 2018
Jasprit Bumrah, still in the nascent stages of his career, produced a lethal spell at the iconic MCG in 2018. His magical 6/33 was instrumental in India getting a huge first innings lead of 292. In the end, he was a key factor in the team securing a 137-run win over the Aussies.
Coming to the spell itself, Burmah first dismissed opener, Marcus Harris, with a short ball close to his chest which was held at the long leg. He then bowled a peach of a slower ball yorker to see the back of an experienced Shaun Marsh. The latter’s dismissal is regarded as one of the greatest deliveries in Test cricket.
The pacer next castled a dangerous Travis Head with a big in-dipper before nicking off skipper Tim Paine. Bumrah got his third five-wicket haul in Tests by trapping Nathan Lyon in front before disturbing the stumps of Josh Hazlewood to scalp his sixth of the innings. India’s then-latest bowling sensation picked three more in the final innings of the Test to give his side a memorable Test win.
Mohammed Shami, 6-56, Perth, 2018
After a defeat in the first Test at Adelaide, Australia made a strong comeback by scoring 326 runs in the first innings in a tricky batting surface on offer at Perth. India (283) were not able to take a lead despite a stunning century by their then-skipper Virat Kohli.
With 43 runs behind in the first innings, the onus was on the India bowlers to put up a show at the Opus Stadium. Mohammed Shami, who didn’t have the best of the first innings (going wicketless) was a different beast in the second. He bowled a fiery spell that accounted for five of Australia’s top seven including the southpaws Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, and Travis Head.
Shami’s first scalp of the innings was Marsh followed by the dangerous Head. He then accounted for skipper Tim Paine and Aaron Finch in successive balls before snapping a well-set Usman Khawaja through an unplayable delivery to complete a five-wicket haul. Nathan Lyon was his sixth victim as Shami ended with this career-best figures of 6/56.Â
Though India ended up losing the Test, this spell of Shami remains one of the best on Aussie soil.Â
Mohammed Siraj, 5-73, Brisbane, 2021
India secured perhaps their greatest away Test series win in 2020/21 when the side breached Australia’s fortress Gabba in the fourth and final Test. While we remember the successful run-chase of 328 by India, the major credit has to be given to their inexperienced bowling attack who picked 20 Aussie wickets on a true batting wicket at Brisbane. One name that stood out was the pacer, Mohammed Siraj.
Siraj, playing just his third Test gave it all out during the team’s second innings bowling effort. Having conceded a marginal 33-run lead in the first innings, India needed to keep Australia’s second innings to as little as possible to give themselves a chance at overhauling the target. Siraj, inexperienced himself, took upon the mantle of leading the pace attack and picked his maiden Test fifer.Â
He snapped Australia’s best batter of the series Marnus Labuschagne through a typical length ball outside off and then produced a snorter to remove Steve Smith. Siraj’s other scalps were Matthew Wade followed by lower-order batters Mitchell Starc & Josh Hazlewood. His spell of 5/73 was pivotal in keeping the total to 294 and in the end proved to be match-winning.
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