Talk swirled around Jasprit Bumrah’s form in the last few months, but it just needed the absence of a senior pro in the Test against England to awaken his stagnant best, writes Sarah Waris.

Numbers. Numbers are all that is needed to put down a player, to write them off. They define a player’s legacy and threaten his place in history, but the truth is that numbers do betray. Just look at Jasprit Bumrah’s example. Since the India quick’s return from a back injury last year, Bumrah had picked up just five ODI wickets at an average of 96.40 at a strike rate of 102.8. In Tests, he had picked up 21 wickets in eight games at an average of 34.95, which was a figure far above his career average of 23.21.

There were some issues with his bowling. He lacked rhythm in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, where he did not pick up a single wicket. He bowled too short, which removed any late swing that he could have generated. He was uninspired during the warm-up game against County XI ahead of the Test series against England, but rumours of his demise were greatly exaggerated, and there were bursts of spells that hinted the above numbers were just an aberration.

During the Boxing Day Test match against Australia, Bumrah sent down 56 per cent of his deliveries on a good line and length on the first day of the game. He managed to get 0.8 degrees of swing and seam, and his angle made him a threat at the MCG. From 2018 till the start of the WTC final, he induced a false shot with 21.9 per cent of his deliveries — the third-highest among India quicks — despite the period coinciding with his ‘slump’. Though he lacked bite during the WTC final, he did not bowl terribly. He got movement from the air and off the wicket, but just lacked the consistency to bowl at a particular length. Despite that, he got the second-highest seam movement among Indian quicks during the game, at 0.8 degrees, with Mohammed Shami slightly higher at 0.9 degrees.

There were signs that Bumrah would return to his peak at some point. But India desperately needed it to come for the first Test against England, with Ishant Sharma absent due to injury.

The impact of Ishant does not need re-emphasizing. The lanky quick has picked up a total of 306 wickets, of which 199 have come away from home. Since the England tour of 2018, Ishant averages 20.48, with 45 scalps in away countries (excluding his three against New Zealand at a neutral venue in the WTC final). His average in wins in this period is 19.76, and there is no denying that his absence would have been a huge concern. With Bumrah struggling for form and Shami’s unfortunate luck in the country well-known, the visitors were already on the back foot.

India needed something special, which is what Bumrah proceeded to provide.

He started off in excellent fashion as he dismissed Rory Burns with a sharp inswinging delivery, similar to his iconic dismissal of Keaton Jennings in 2018. In the very first over, Bumrah got a few balls to nip away from the opener before getting him with one that came back in. According to CricViz, India managed 2.6 degrees of swing in the first five overs of the match, with Bumrah responsible for most of that.

He patiently kept attacking the stumps ball after ball. There were yorkers and away-swingers, and collectively the hosts managed a control percentage of just 66.9 against Bumrah, according to ESPNcricinfo.

In the first innings, Bumrah dismissed Jos Buttler, who kept poking outside the off-stump, with a delivery that straightened to get the batsman’s outside edge, and proceeded to get the wickets of Stuart Broad and James Anderson in quick succession. The second innings was even more spectacular. He squared up Zak Crawley with one that zipped off the deck, and came back to dismiss Dom Sibley, though the batsman could be blamed more for the dismissal after he poked a delivery wide of off-stump that should have been left alone.

Bumrah had to work hard against Joe Root in the second innings, but the Indian finally got his man by extracting bounce withthe new ball. Banging it on a good length, the English skipper pushed away only to edge behind to Rishabh Pant. Sam Curran was caught by Mohammaed Siraj off one that skidded quickly onto him and cramped him for room, and as he yorked Broad to pick up his five-for, the relief on his face said it all.

Beginning with an animated cry after he picked up the first of his nine wickets in the game and ending with a silent sigh, Bumrah has well and truly announced his return in style. He had never really ‘left’, but India will prefer the hand-raising, face-brimming-with-a-smile Bumrah any day.

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