 "A still of Jasprit Bumrah from Lord's Test. AP")
As wickets tumbled on Day 5 at Lord’s, Team India plunged into a shell and runs had completely dried up. Ravindra Jadeja, who against all odds put on a fight, had adopted a safety-first approach, and held on to it till the end of the match. He managed to forge a little stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy after 7 wickets were down, but the partnership could not go beyond the 30-run mark. Reddy’s dismissal brought Jasprit Bumrah to the crease, who in the past has showcased his mettle with the bat. However, Jadeja tried taking most of the strike and Bumrah seemingly had only one job to do, which was to defend. The pacer knew the importance of the wicket and kept negating with a straight bat. After carefully playing 53 deliveries, his patience finally ran out and he perished at the score of 5.
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Herschelle Gibbs questions Bumrah
The players in the dressing room, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, applauded the effort put in by Bumrah. He received praise from many experts as well, but an odd criticism has also been raised. Former South African batter, Herschelle Gibbs has thrown flak at Bumrah for not displaying intent. As someone who has scored 29 runs in an over in a Test match, Bumrah can launch an onslaught with the bat. However, he remained cautious this time and did not throw his bat at anything, except one at which he hit a boundary off Jofra Archer. According to Giibs, Bumrah should have showcased an attacking intent.
While his post was not directed at Bumrah, the reply he gave to a user cleared out what he was referring.
“Bumrah has the most runs in an over for a batsman in test cricket.. .. where was that intent today?” Gibbs said while replying to a user.
As India lost the game by a mere margin of 22 runs, in hindsight, many factors can be pointed out that could have changed the outcome, but that’s all in the past and reality cannot be altered. Team India will have to brush aside the Lord’s defeat and regroup immediately, as there’s a Test series to be won. The 4th Test of the India vs England series will begin on July 23, 2025.