Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was once again the star of the show for India in the bowling department as they bundled out England for 465 and took a slender six-run lead ahead of their second innings. It was another sensational bowling display from the 31-year-old, once again proving why he is the No.1 ranked Test bowler in the world according to the ICC Rankings.
Following Bumrah's stellar performance, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik made the massive claim that the pacer is currently as valuable as the Kohinoor diamond and further went on to label him as 'very special'.
“He is as valuable as the Kohinoor diamond. I hope people realise how important he is to the team across formats. He will make it work regardless of formats, bowling phase and any kind of ball. But more importantly, he has got the brain that knows what the batter is trying to do and he has got that wired very nicely. In the history of the game, for any bowler who has picked more than 200 wickets, he has the best average and that tells you he is something very special,” Karthik said during a discussion on Sky Cricket.
Shastri compared Bumrah to Kapil Dev
Former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri claimed that Bumrah is the greatest bowler to ever play for the Men in Blue, comparing him with legends of the game like Kapil Dev and Malcolm Marshall.
“There is no question he is India's greatest fast bowler. I played with Kapil Dev but this guy is different. He can take any opposition apart, on any surface, in any format. I thought Malcolm Marshall was the best I saw in reading a batter and setting him up but this guy is not far behind. When he is swinging the new ball it becomes hard for any batter in the world to counter him, what with the action and the late release," Shastri said on Sky Cricket.
Notably, Bumrah's fifer at Headingley was his 14th Test 5-fer and included big wickets of Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Chris Woakes. Following the end of England's innings, the Indian batters once again made their way to the field and after losing Yashasvi Jaiswal early in the fourth over, KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan's stand of 66 provided them with stability before the latter was dismissed for 30 runs.
The visitors finished the third day on 90/2 with Rahul unbeaten on 47 and captain Shubman Gill batting on 6. They currently lead the hosts by 96 runs and will be looking to post another big total in their second innings on the fourth day of Headingley Test.