CHENNAI: One of the most defining moments of the fifth day of the fourth Test between India and England at The Oval in September was Jasprit Bumrah's magic with an oldish ball. He broke through the spine of the batting order with wickets of Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow with balls that hooped back to disturb the furniture. Till that moment, it was tense. Post those two wickets off five Bumrah balls, it had become academic. It's likely that those three names could all be key figures in the fate of the fifth and final Test, which was held more than nine months later because of a Covid outbreak in the Indian camp then.
Pope and Bairstow, under the new England regime, occupy two crucial positions on either side of Joe Root at No 4. During the New Zealand series, both played multiple key knocks. That they don't dot and look to move the game forward with their proactive approach means there is a world of difference between then and now. It could be the theme of this Test because change is prevalent in the visiting side as well. There is a new coaching regime, a new captain (more on this later), possibly a new batch of openers and at least two new specialist batters.
All eyes, though, will be on Bumrah. There is a chance that regular skipper Rohit Sharma may miss out if he doesn't return two negative Covid-19 tests in the next 24 hours. While coach Rahul Dravid refused to rule out Rohit during a press conference on Wednesday — contradicting earlier reports that said he was out — his lead fast-bowler will be primed, one way or another.
For one, if he does get walk out to the toss, it will be the first time that an Indian pacer would be captain this century. The other, more important thing is that the 28-year-old was front and centre in the last English Summer and will be the main man if India are to win a series in England for the first time since 2007. He picked up Root thrice apart from picking up four wickets within the first four overs across the four Tests.
With England radically altering their strategy, Bumrah is an antidote to BazBall. He picks up wickets with the new and old ball, can move it, is deceptively quick, and can make the opposition batters doubt their own methods.
On the captaincy, Dravid was cryptic as he asked reporters to wait for 'official sources'. "The update on Rohit is that he's being monitored. He has not yet been ruled out. He needs to get the negative tests to be available... he will have a test later tonight (Wednesday) as well and maybe one tomorrow (Thursday) morning as well."
Irrespective of what happens, Bumrah will be waiting.