‘If we get it from them, we can give it back’: India ready for bouncer-barrage, says Bumrah

Satisfied after getting his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket, Jasprit Bumrah said that the current Indian attack has “pace” and are not afraid of dishing out short-pitched stuff like their South African counterparts.

“Indian pacers have also got pace, we are just trying to get the wickets. If we get it from them, we can give it back as well. That was our basic plan as they were trying to play some shots,” Bumrah replied, when asked about the short-pitched strategy deployed against the South African tail.

The visitors reached 49/1 at stumps after Bumrah’s 5/54 that helped them bowl out South Africa for 194 in their first innings.

Bumrah also spoke about how the Indian bowling attack hunted in a pack. “We always want to contribute as a pack. On another day, may be another bowler will get more wickets but we wanted to create pressure as a pack. It was always a dream to play Test cricket and get a first five-wicket haul over here. It’s always a great feeling (when you are able to do so),” said Bumrah.

Nightwatchman Kagiso Rabada batted nearly two hours in the morning while Hashim Amla played a grinding knock of 61 runs off 121 balls.“It was not frustrating [to see Rabada bat] because he was playing well. So you some times acknowledge that the batsman is playing well. You don’t try too much and just don’t go away from your plans. This is what we were discussing.”

“On these type of pitches, wickets can fall in bunches. We were focussing on that,” Bumrah said.

‘We haven’t played on many [bowler-friendly] wickets in India’

Bumrah got Hashim Amla, who tried to flick him over deep square leg but was holed out. “Amla was trying to shuffle a lot. The ball was doing so much that he was trying to do something else. So that was working for him. We thought that we would probably use one fuller ball straight up. That could also give the message that we are trying to hit the stumps.”

“All these battles are very interesting on such wickets as its always challenging and you keep on learning when such challenges come. You are very happy whenever you get his [Amla’s] wicket, so I am very happy.”

“He was beaten a lot of times but we were happy that he got out ,” he added.

Bumrah said that this was a very helpful wicket for the bowlers, perhaps even a touch towards the extreme. But he added that it was a pleasant new experience since he hadn’t bowled on such a wicket in India.

“We haven’t played on many such wickets where there is so much help for the bowlers, certainly not in India. It’s a little different. On such wickets, there is always a temptation that you try harder or get more wickets.”

This has been an upward curve for Bumrah, who has been a stand-out limited-overs bowler for India in the past year, but now has made a mark in Test cricket as well. “...This is red ball cricket right now, so I try to focus on what works in red ball cricket and try to ask questions to all successful bowlers,” he said.

-With inputs from PTI