Former England cricketer Jonathan Trott pointed out that Jasprit Bumrah benefits a lot whenever he gets support from the other Indian bowlers from the other end. This comes after the pace spearhead was only able to take one wicket on the third day of the Manchester Test as England piled on runs rather comfortably and finished the day on 544/7, leading by 186 runs.
It was quite a hard day for India as they only managed to pick up a total of five wickets in three sessions as the England batters dominated. Joe Root played a sensational knock of 150 while Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes also played valiant innings of 71 and 77 respectively as the hosts put up a humongous total by the end of the day and are expected to score even more on the fourth day.
Though Bumrah was among India's star performers in the bowling department after the first three Tests, the 31-year-old hasn't been able to deliver so far at Old Trafford. He has only been able to take a wicket so far in his 28-over spell and has given away 95 runs.
Bumrah hasn't been able to perform well in Manchester Test so far
"Bumrah's areas were pretty good, and his economy reflects that — he was just a bit unlucky. But the bigger issue is pressure from both ends. Bumrah benefits massively when there's support at the other end, and that wasn't the case today (Friday). When you're slightly under par as a bowling unit — like India were — control from both ends becomes crucial," Trott said on JioHotstar.
Trott also feels that the fourth Test has gone way beyond India's control now as they have fallen behind England by a massive margin. He further pointed out that Akash Deep getting ruled out of the Test series has highly affected India's bowling attack.
"Shubman Gill is on his first trip to England as a batter and has also been thrown into the deep end as captain — carrying immense responsibility. He fought well across the first three Tests, but this game feels slightly beyond India, considering the challenges and resources. India's bowling was hampered by Akash Deep's unavailability — he picked up 10 wickets in the last Test but missed out due to injury," Trott stated.
"Anshul Kamboj came in, but struggled to rise to the demands of Test cricket. One area India could've improved is their bowling combination — seamers bowled nearly 82 overs for just three wickets, while spin got four wickets in just 52 overs. That's something they'll need to reassess," he added.
Meanwhile, England are in complete control of the match heading into the fourth day. They have already taken a big lead and still have Stokes and Liam Dawson batting on the crease. The duo will be looking to take their side's innings forward as they return to bat on Day 4.