BRISBANE: Jasprit Bumrah stood at fine leg with his hands on his hips, a picture of controlled frustration. It was 10:50 AM on Sunday at The Gabba. Unlike day one of the third Test between India and Australia, the sun was out and shining brightly. The extra half-hour added to compensate for Saturday's rain delay had gone smoothly.
Thanks to the rain, Bumrah had been able to continue his spell on Sunday morning, and he was breathing fire. Running in with purpose, he removed both openers, leaving Marcus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in the middle. Desperate to break their partnership, Bumrah had bowled 11 overs by then, including six maidens, taking 2 for 12. On day two, he had bowled six consecutive overs leading up to the drinks break.
While the rest of the Indian team gathered near the pitch during their break, Bumrah remained at the boundary. Reports suggested that Bumrah had asked for another over, but Rohit Sharma declined, wary of overworking his premier pacer. By this point, after 24 overs, the scoreboard read 53 for 2.
Over the next hour, Bumrah looked like a man watching helplessly from the sidelines, wondering, "What more can I do?" He patrolled the field, moving from mid-on to fine leg, as Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep continued their spells. Soon, Nitish K Reddy was introduced into the attack. Labuschagne and Smith, however, settled in and looked primed for a big score. Smith regained his trademark trigger movement, while Labuschagne played with urgency.
Even as they rotated the strike, the scoring rate remained modest, hovering slightly above two runs per over. The Gabba crowd cheered on their heroes while booing Siraj with every delivery. An intense moment unfolded as Labuschagne fiddled with the bails, prompting Siraj to switch them back.
Labuschagne, after facing 54 balls, was still searching for his first boundary. Reddy bowled a full delivery, which the No. 3 batter drove, only to gift Virat Kohli a straightforward catch in the slips.
It was an ideal time for Sharma to reintroduce Bumrah or Akash Deep for a short spell, especially with Travis Head just arriving at the crease. The last thing India needed was for Head to settle. However, Sharma persisted with Reddy and Siraj. Siraj bowled his 11th over (fifth on the trot), and Bumrah returned for three overs before lunch, but without further breakthroughs.
The second session followed a similar pattern. Bumrah bowled with intensity, keeping spectators on edge, while at the other end, the game seemed to slip away. Sharma’s field placements for Head were puzzling, allowing the left-hander to race to another half-century. Head countered India’s plans with a flurry of boundaries, cutting, pulling, and ramping the ball effectively. Sharma rarely stuck with a single plan for long, while Siraj’s lack of pace compounded matters.
Akash Deep and Bumrah continued to bowl well but with little success. Ravindra Jadeja’s lacklustre performance offered no respite. Frustration boiled over when Head smashed Jadeja through fine leg, prompting Bumrah to hurl the ball towards his captain.
India seemed to be going through the motions as Head and Smith piled on the runs. Head notched up another century against India, while Smith reached a much-anticipated ton. By tea, the duo remained unbeaten, with Smith also crossing the three-figure mark soon after. Sharma opted for spread-out fields for Head, making it easy for the batter to keep scoring.
The numbers painted a stark picture. Between Bumrah’s second spell (six overs split across lunch) and his next appearance when Head was in the nineties, India conceded 93 runs in 18 overs at 5.16 runs per over. Things worsened when Reddy and Jadeja bowled in tandem; Australia plundered 69 runs in 11 overs, taking the score to 297 for 3 at the 80-over mark.
But Bumrah, as always, delivered when called upon. With the second new ball in hand, it took him just 12 deliveries to make an impact. Bowling wide and full, he induced an edge from Smith, who had just reached his century. Kohli snapped it up in the slips. Shortly after, Bumrah dismissed Mitchell Marsh with a good-length delivery outside off stump, drawing another edge. Two balls later, he sent Head packing, his hands raised more in relief than celebration.
It was Bumrah’s second five-wicket haul of the tour, accounting for five of the six wickets India managed. On a day when the rest of the team struggled, Bumrah stood tall.
To his credit, Akash Deep also bowled commendably without much reward. Bumrah’s economy rate of 2.88 runs per over contrasted with Akash Deep’s slightly higher 3.16 as Australia closed the day on 405 for 7.
With three days left in the match, the Indian team might be hoping more fervently for the predicted thunderstorms than anything else. If the rain stays away, Australia appear to have batted India out of both the match and possibly the series.