Jasprit Bumrah insists he doesn’t think about numbers after 6/45 at Vizag, says ‘reverse swing plays big role’ in India

Jasprit Bumrah added another feather to his cap and put India in the driving seat at the same time with a sensational haul of 6/45 on the second day of the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam. Not only did Bumrah register his best Test haul at home, he also became the quickest Indian pacer to 150 Test wickets , achieving the feat in his 34th Test appearance — the same as the legendary Australian pace trio of Jeff Thompson, Glenn McGrath and Mitchell Johnson. **As It Happened | India vs England, 2nd Test in Visakhapatnam, Day 2** Speaking to official broadcasters Sports18 after stumps, however, Bumrah insisted he didn’t really focus on numbers, and that he is simply happy to play Test cricket — in which he began his journey in Cape Town in 2018. “Don’t look at numbers, just very happy to play Test cricket,” Bumrah told commentator and former India head coach Ravi Shastri in a brief chat after stumps. In a series expected to be dominated by the Ravichandran Ashwin-led spin department, it is Bumrah who has emerged the standout Indian bowler so far in Hyderabad and Vizag. The pacer had used reverse swing to great effect in the series opener at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, where he collected six wickets across the match including 4/41 in the second innings, though his effort would ultimately go in vain as the Ben Stokes-led English team bounced back from a 190-run first innings deficit in style to collect a thrilling 28-run victory. Bumrah was at it again on the second day of the second Test on Saturday, once again making the English batters dance to his tunes once the ball started reversing. The 30-year-old got rid of Joe Root and Ollie Pope in a superb post-lunch spell, castling the latter with a searing yorker that would leave the stumps in a mess. Read | Bumrah does a Bumrah once again to hide India's batting frailties He would then collect the wickets of opposition skipper Ben Stokes (47), Jonny Bairstow (25) and Tom Hartley (21) after tea, denying Stokes a second half-century in as many games, before completing his six-for by trapping James Anderson leg-before. During the post-match chat with Shastri, Bumrah opened up on the importance of reverse swing in Indian conditions and how patience played a key role in setting batters up. “In India reverse swing plays a big role. Born in this country, you know how to use it to your advantage. In India, you have to learn how to bowl reverse. I’ve grown up watching reverse swing set ups, legendary bowlers bowling magical deliveries. “To be able to do it now, very happy with that. When you bowl reverse, people try to bowl magical deliveries every other ball. You have to be patient with that. Have to set the batters up. Have to use deliveries wisely. Can’t just bowl inswing outswing, inswing outswing. “After that Pope delivery, I had in mind they’ll be looking out for the inswinger. Was keeping an eye on what the batters were looking to do,” Bumrah added. You don’t have to search for magic if there is reverse swing: Bumrah The way Bumrah set up the likes of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope by getting the ball to move both ways before trapping them was a treat to watch. It wasn’t a surprise that the video clip of the booming inswinging yorker to castle Pope was circulated widely on social media. Bumrah usually takes his failure and success in a matter of fact manner and it was no different when asked about his bowling effort in the post day media interaction. “In first class cricket, if you want to take wickets in India, you have to learn to bowl reverse swing. Probably, I learned to bowl reverse swing before the conventional swing because you play a lot of cricket on slow wickets,” said Bumrah. [caption id=“attachment_13686502” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] India pacer Jasprit Bumrah gestures after completing his five-for on Day 2 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. Sportzpics[/caption] “So you understand what you have to do over here. You have to find a way, what are the areas that you have to hit. So, yeah, in the nets, you practice all of those skills and try and execute (to get wickets).” On his thought process before bamboozling Pope, Bumrah said: At that time, the ball was relatively hard. So yes, there was some reverse swing. In reverse swing, you don’t have to bowl magical deliveries every ball. So I had bowled a few away going deliveries and then there was a thought going on in my head that what do I bowl? I should bowl a length delivery coming in or should I go for a yorker? But I had not bowled a yorker till then. I thought okay might as well take a chance with that and it did swing a lot. The execution was good, very happy with that. Read | 'Test cricket the utmost format for me': Jasprit Bumrah The away swingers worked against Root and Bairstow, who were anticipating the ball to come back in. Bumrah doesn’t like to rate his performances but considering the stage of the game, both those wickets were extremely important. “I’m still playing, so hopefully more deliveries will come in my way. That phase was very important. To get Root and Pope at that time was very important for us because you understand that wicket does not do a lot and the wicket was a little on the slower side,” he said. For the second game in a row, England skipper Ben Stokes wore a bewildered look after being undone by Bumrah’s brilliance. What was that expression all about? WATCH: Ben Stokes expresses helplessness after being cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah “I don’t know what Stokes was thinking but I attempted an outswing but the ball went straight so I think maybe he had seen the shine and thought the ball would go away but it came in straight and he got bowled. “We know he is a dangerous batsman at that moment when he bats with the lower-order as he bats with freedom and takes lot of chances,” said Bumrah. He has plenty of variations up his sleeve and the world has witnessed that especially in the shorter formats but Bumrah says one must understand the importance of patience in the five-day version of the game. “Test cricket teaches you patience, isn’t’ it? When you try and bowl magical deliveries now and then, it doesn’t work. Even if you have everything you don’t need to use everything at one particular time. “You understand what is working today and what is the need of the hour. Try to focus on the now. Earlier, if I have thought about taking six wickets, it has never worked for me. I have a lot of deliveries and you can confuse yourself. You need to shut that noise and focus on the next ball,” he added. With PTI inputs