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India's vice-captain and star pacer Jasprit Bumrah picked up five wickets folding the Sri Lanka team for a paltry total of 109 runs in first innings of the pink-ball Test. Bumrah completed his eighth five-wicket haul in his 29th Test appearance and this was also his first five-wicket haul on home soil.
Gavaskar speaks
In a situation like this, former India batsman Sunil Gavaskar has praised Indian vice-captain as he feels Bumrah “always wants to get better than yesterday.”
“So much of skill, so much of ability, so much of belief in himself and he always wants to get better than yesterday. And that is why he has been so successful. He has got better and better every match. Yes again, it happens in every cricketer's career, he might have the odd barren period, but he will be the bowler that the opposition batsman will not want to face,” Gavaskar said while talking to the host broadcaster.
While analysing Bumrah’s bowling skills, Gavaskar said that “no batsman can feel at ease” while facing the 28-year-old Indian pacer.
“Under lights with the ball full pitched up like that and coming at a speed of 140kph, little bit difficult sometimes for the batsman to pick. But during daylight, it might not be that difficult. But the skillset and variety he has no batsman can feel at ease.
“He has got this ability to get the batsman out when the batter is set. With the new ball you are expected to get the batter out because that is your strength as a bowler. It's a hard ball or a new ball, the ball will move in the air, and then it will seam after pitching, but when you get a batter out when he is set that tells you how good a bowler he is. And that is Jasprit Bumrah is.” The 72-year-old former India skipper explained.
The hosts on the other hand, scored 303/9 (declared) in the second innings of the pink-ball Test. Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant (50 runs off 31 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (67 runs off 87 ball) showed solid batting display to post a huge target of 447 runs for the visitors. Sri Lanka ended the second day’s play at 28/1.
