MELBOURNE: Jasprit Bumrah was running in for his 21st over of the day. He had, at this point, already taken four wickets and was looking for his fifth and the last one that was left. As he ran in with the sun going down slowly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Nathan Lyon flicked a full is delivery towards mid-on and Nitish Reddy fumbled.
Bumrah stood in the middle, hand in hip, in exasperation. His reaction, if it had a sound, would have been heard: “what more can I do.” He would turn around and look at the slip cordon and Virat Kohli would gesture in a way to cool him down.
It had been that kind of a day four for India and Bumrah. From the time he took the new ball till his 21st over — Bumrah had been through eight spells — the Indian vice-captain had bowled like the phrase ‘he’s him‘. In fact, Bumrah had been ‘he’s him’ not just this series but since coming back from injury. But this series, even more so.
Bumrah, till that eighth spell, had taken four wickets in the innings, eight in the match and 29 in the series at 12.75. In the process, he became the first bowler in the history of the sport to get to 200 Test wickets under 20 average. The lists just go on and on and that, undoubtedly, has been the story of the series.
Whether it is Adelaide or Brisbane, Bumrah did the same but with little support. Sunday, however, was different. From the moment they took the field after getting out for 369 in the morning, India were switched on. The bowling changes, the field settings, it all were spot on and they were only aided by the fact that Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj were hitting the right lengths.
While the former had been bowling well with little luck, Siraj had bowled hot and cold. But when Siraj turned up on Sunday, he was in rhythm. He did not just go through the motions and deliver the ball. He was asking questions. Perhaps, for the first time since Perth, India looked like they were involved in every ball.
Kohli was switched on and got himself involved and so did Rohit Sharma, who was spot on with his changes. If the second innings in Brisbane felt like India making the most of conditions, here they did too much of it at times. That Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped as many as three catches surely didn’t help.
But when they did hit the strides, India bowled like a dream. Siraj cleaned up Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith threw it away, but how it came didn’t matter. India had Australia on the ropes. The ball was seaming and swinging more than it did on day one. The home team were six down for 91 and the lead just 105. The ideal scenario was dismissing them as early as possible and then chase it down.
However, Marnus Labuschagne persisted and so did captain Pat Cummins. Such was Bumrah’s lethal nature that Labuschagne was protecting Cummins from him. They farmed the strike and frustrated India for a long time. It was not until the lead was extended past 250 that an umpire’s call went India’s way and Labuschagne fell for 70.
Sharma tried to bring Bumrah back at every opportunity possible but the lower-order persisted. From a fan pointview — the 299,329 of them who attended across four days — it was a spectacle setting up for a thrilling theatre on the final day. That the Test match had already broken the record for most number of fans for a Boxing Day Test at the MCG summed it up. For Australia, it was about elongating the lead as much as possible and then have a go at India on Monday.
Fittingly, what had been a frustrating third session for India came to an end with a Bumrah over where he dismissed Lyon but was called no ball as Australia ended the day on 228/9. The lead, already past the biggest total India have chased in Australia, is now 333 and it all will come down to how long before Sharma and Jaiswal get to bat again on Monday.