Ricky Ponting didn’t hold back when talking about Jasprit Bumrah today. The Aussie legend was pretty harsh about India’s star bowler. England just smashed 669 runs, and Ponting thinks Bumrah looked completely lost out there.
For the first time ever, Bumrah gave away more than 100 runs. That’s never happened before in his Test career. Ponting said Bumrah looked “under-cooked” and way too easy to score off.
“Bumrah did look a bit flat right from the start of this game, to be honest. You look at his pace. His pace has been sort of 82, 83 miles an hour on average right the way through this game, which is probably three or four or five miles down on what he normally is.”
“But you’ve got to give credit to the England batters as well. I thought Duckett and Crawley at the top really put this Indian bowling attack under a lot of pressure from the start,” Ponting said.
The former captain was really direct about it. He questioned Bumrah’s pace and said the bowler seemed undisciplined. Coming from someone like Ponting, those words definitely sting.
Bumrah Had His Worst Day Ever
Things went wrong from the very start for Bumrah. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett just kept hitting boundaries off him. Usually, batsmen struggle against Bumrah’s tricky bowling action.
Mohammed Siraj had an equally bad time out there. He bowled his heart out but gave away 140 runs. Poor guy has played all four Tests and looks completely worn out.
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Both bowlers seemed tired and frustrated as England kept scoring runs. They’ve been carrying India’s bowling attack for months now. Sometimes even the best players have off days like this.
England Just Kept Scoring and Scoring
The English batsmen had a field day against tired Indian bowlers. Ben Stokes was the star with both bat and ball. He scored a brilliant century when his team needed it most.
Stokes also reached a special milestone during this match. He became only the third player with 7,000 runs and 200 wickets. That’s pretty incredible for any all-rounder to achieve.
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India hasn’t given away 600-plus runs since way back in 2014. This shows just how tough things got for the visiting team.
What Happens Next for Bumrah?
Everyone’s worried about Bumrah’s fitness after this series. His unusual bowling style puts extra pressure on his body. The team doctors are keeping a close eye on him.
He might not play the final Test at The Oval. That would give him some much-needed rest before the future series. India really needs their best bowler to stay healthy and fresh.
