India might have lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 title but Jasprit Bumrah's bowling mastery certainly remained the highlight of the five-match high-octane outing in Australia. Australia thrashed India by six wickets in the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground to win the series 3-1. Australia ended up lifting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a gap of 10 years.
If Bumrah wasn't in this tour, the series would have ended 5-0: Harbhajan Singh
Meanwhile India's spin legend and two-time World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh feels visitors would have lost the series 5-0 or 4-0 without the services of their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. It was Bumrah, who single- handedly shouldered India's bowling attack and kept on bringing them back in the game again and again. However, his efforts went in vain as India eventually lost the series despite Bumrah being the leading wicket-taker in the series, with 32 scalps. Bumrah started off with a match-winning performance and led India to an emphatic 295-run win over Australia in the series opener in Perth with a brilliant spell of 8/72. He then went on to notch two nine-wicket hauls in the following Tests in Adelaide (9/94) and MCG (9/156).
"If Jasprit Bumrah wasn't in this tour, the series would have ended 5-0. Jassi saved India in Perth. After Adelaide, he saved India in the rest of the matches. If he wasn't in the series, India would have lost by either 5-0 or 4-0," Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.
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Jasprit Bumrah's dominance in BGT 2024-2025
Bumrah concluded the Test series as the leading wicket-taker with an impressive 32 scalps in just nine innings. He averaged a sensational 13.06 and picked three five-wicket hauls. With this he stormed into the history books as he shattered Bishan Singh Bedi's previous record of 31 wickets for an Indian bowler in a single Test series in Australia.
Not jus this, Bumrah also went pat legendary Kapil Dev's record of 51 wickets to become the Indian bowler with the most Test wickets in Australia. In 12 matches Down Under, he has amassed 64 wickets in 23 innings, boasting an average of 17.15 and four five-wicket hauls, with a best match haul of 9/86.
However, Bumrah suffered discomfort in his back during SCG Test and had to undergo scans. He did come back to bat in India's second innings but couldn't bowl. Later it was learnt that Bumrah had back spasms, however the scans report is still awaited.
