‘We definitely won’t try it’: Starc says no to Jasprit Bumrah’s weapon after India captain rattles Australia in Perth

The pressure of leading the team proved to be a further motivating factor as Jasprit Bumrah gave India the upper hand on Day 1 of the ongoing Test match against Australia in Perth. Bumrah stepped up to lead India for the second time in Test matches due to regular captain Rohit Sharma’s absence (on paternity leave), taking four wickets to run through the Australian batting line. Bumrah’s spell with the new ball in the final session on Day 1 in Perth was hailed by many as one of the best in modern cricket. Even the Australian camp couldn’t stop raving about Bumrah.

Speaking after Stumps, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc praised Bumrah’s dominance across all formats.

“Maybe obviously he’s got quite a bit of hyperextension in that elbow and doing things, a lot of actions, one that you do. So it’s no surprise that he’s been a great bowler across the formats for a long time. And again, his ability was shown today in terms of how good he is. So, yeah, I’m sure there’s something in that release point that’s important to his act people can’t do it, so I don’t, I’ll definitely not try I’ll probably catch it, he said.

Top sick match on day 1

Day 1 began with Bumrah winning the toss and electing to bat. But the Indian batsmen put up a disappointing show and were bundled out for 150. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for an eight-ball duck and Devdutt Padikkal departed for a 23-ball duck. Meanwhile, veteran Virat Kohli could only muster five runs off 12 balls.

Rishabh Pant (37) and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) came up with key knocks for India as other batsmen failed. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood took four wickets for the hosts. It was also the ninth instance of India being bowled out on the opening day of an away series and the first since Kingston 2011. Also, 49.4 overs is the fewest overs faced by India in these nine instances.

In reply to India’s total, the Aussies faced a similar fate, crumbling to Bumrah’s four-wicket haul. Steve Smith was dismissed for a golden duck and Marnus Labuschagne managed two runs off 52 balls. Australia posted 67/7 at Stumps with Alex Carey (19*) and Starc (6*) remaining unbeaten.