Former Pakistan cricketer lavished praise on Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah for his performance in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Bumrah picked up nine wickets in two Test matches and he is the only India speedster who managed to pick up a four-wicket haul in the second Test match where Australia defeated India by 10 wickets.
Basit also said that Jasprit Bumrah is the only pacer after Pakistan's Wasim Akram who scared Australia's batters.
"Australia are focusing on Bumrah. They won't take a chance against him. Maine agar Wasim Akram ke baad Australians ko kisi bowler se ghabraate hue dekha hai, toh woh Bumrah hai (after Wasim Akram, if I have seen the Australians scared of a bowler, it is Bumrah). They never took a chance against Wasim, always tried scoring from the other end," Basit said on his YouTube channel.
Bumrah-led India defeated Australia by 295 runs in the first Test match to take a 1-0 lead in the five-Test match series but Australia bounced back in the pink ball Test as they defeated India by 10 wickets. Travis Head was the stand-out performer for the hosts as he scored 140 runs in the first innings during the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
India batters failed to perform in the second Test match as last match centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal got out on a duck on the first ball of the match. Apart from Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also failed to make an impact in Adelaide. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the highest run-getter for India in the second Test scoring 84 runs in two innings.
The ongoing Test series against Australia is important for India to seal their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final which will take place in England next year. India needs to win the remaining three Test matches to seal their berth for the WTC final for the third consecutive time.
The third Test match between India and Australia is scheduled to start from December 14 at the iconic Gabba.