Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah further solidified his reputation as one of India’s premier seamers in red-ball cricket, becoming just the third fast bowler to take 50 or more Test wickets in a calendar year. During the second Test in Adelaide against Australia, Bumrah claimed his 50th wicket of 2024 by forcing an edge off Usman Khawaja. Before Bumrah, only former captains Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan had achieved this feat. Kapil Dev is the only Indian pacer to surpass 50 wickets in a calendar year twice, first in 1979 with 74 wickets and then again in 1983 with 75 wickets. Zaheer Khan joined the exclusive club in 2002 with 51 wickets.
Bumrah’s current Test bowling average of 15.14 is the best among the 17 instances of Indian bowlers taking 50-plus wickets in a calendar year. Alongside Bumrah, young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has also made his mark in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, impressing with his explosive batting. Nitish has hit six sixes across his three innings in the series, five of them against fast bowlers—the most by any Indian in Tests in Australia. He surpassed the likes of Zaheer, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant, who each have hit three.
Despite the individual brilliance of Bumrah and Nitish, India found themselves in a tough position at the end of day one of the second Test. After a promising 69-run partnership between Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, India lost wickets in quick succession. From 69/1, India were reduced to 87/5 in just eight overs. Nitish’s quick-fire 42 provided some resistance, but India were eventually bowled out for 180. In reply, Australia ended the day comfortably at 86/1, with Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne leading the charge with an unbroken 62-run partnership. Australia are in a strong position, trailing by just 94 runs.
