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Bumrah lit up his maiden Test at Eden Gardens with a ruthless five-wicket burst, dismantling South Africa after their brisk start and turning the contest decisively India’s way.
Jasprit Bumrah picked five wickets in South Africa’s first innings (Picture credit: AP)
Temba Bavuma arrived well-prepared, having mastered the art of winning tosses in India. But he could hardly have imagined a ferocious Jasprit Bumrah ripping through South Africa on the Eden Gardens strip, which he praised before the game.
What began as a seemingly balanced contest between bat and ball quickly shifted under Bumrah’s command. Playing his first Test at the Eden Gardens, the 31-year-old returned the 16th five-wicket haul of his career, taking his tally of wickets to 231 in Test cricket.
The much-talked Eden Gardens pitch offered early bounce, evident when Bumrah’s third delivery struck Aiden Markram high on the bat. South Africa took three overs to find a boundary through the bat, with Rickelton hitting consecutive fours off Siraj. Once settled, Siraj proved the easier target, as Markram broke his 22-ball struggle with two elegant boundaries.
With Rickelton accelerating and Markram finding rhythm, the pair raised a brisk fifty partnership in the 10th over — South Africa’s first opening stand of 50 or more in India since 2003, when McKenzie and Smith added 61 in Kanpur.
As always, Bumrah was at work before the Proteas could shift gears. He came up with two gems of deliveries to remove both openers who were looking to drop anchor. A 140 kph length ball from round the wicket moved off the deck beautifully to beat Rickelton’s outside edge and hit the off stumps.
The delivery that had Markram’s name written on it was a tad slower, but the extra bounce from a shorter length brushed the top of the bat before landing safely in a diving Rishabh Pant’s gloves.
Yet the first session was termed ‘shared’ as the Proteas posted a little over 100 runs before going for lunch. However, the tempo at which they reached triple figures was eventually surrendered to India’s attack. Bumrah was back with his second spell to trap Tony de Zorzi in front with a good length ball, angling in.
With three wickets already in his pocket, he took a back seat for a while, letting Siraj and Axar do their job.
Siraj, after toiling for 3 spells across 2 sessions, finally found his first victim in Kyle Verryne, who had turned frustrating with a 70-ball partnership with Tristan Stubbs that yielded just 26 runs. The workhorse hit the hard length as the ball nipped back to hit Verryne’s back pad.
In the same over, he castled Marco Jansen with a 130kph length ball that breached the tail-ender’s defence. The double strike earned Siraj a massive ovation from the Kolkata crowd as he took his spot near the boundary line.
The Bumrah storm struck the Proteas again, and the visitors were folded within 18 balls after tea. The right arm quick knocked over Simon Harmer with yet another ripper, jagging back into the off stump.
The final nail in the coffin was Bumrah’s trademark Yorker, smashing Keshav Maharaj’s toes to make it an easy LBW judgement for Rod Tucker. It turned out to be the pacers’ quickest spell of the day, reading 2-1-4-2.
Bumrah’s five-wicket haul made him the first fast bowler in 17 years to take at least five wickets on Day 1 of a red-ball Test in India. The last to do so was South Africa’s Dale Steyn, who produced figures of 5/23 in eight overs against India in Ahmedabad in 2008.
Ishant Sharma also claimed 5/22 on the opening day of the Pink-ball Test in 2019. More recently, in October 2024, New Zealand’s Matt Henry dismissed five Indian batters on the scheduled second day in Bengaluru after Day 1 was washed out.
Bumrah’s latest fifer is the 16th of his Test career, with only Ashwin, Kumble, Harbhajan and Kapil Dev ahead of him for India. In India–South Africa Tests, his four five-wicket hauls place him behind only Steyn and Ashwin, both of whom finished with five.
To South Africa’s dismay, they could manage just 54 runs in the last 24 overs of their first innings, despite a rapid start from the openers. They were bundled out for 159, playing 55 overs in their first essay.
The Eyebrow Raiser of The Day
Bumrah may have emerged as the best bowler of the day, his remark about the South African skipper, Temba Bavuma, has rocked the internet. Early into the game, Bumrah seemingly created an opportunity, trapping the Proteas skipper in the front. Although the ball was moving above the stumps, the discussion among the Indian players – as heard over the stump mic – has led to social outrage.
In a video going viral on the internet, Bumrah can be heard saying, “Bauna bhi hai b***”
While Bumrah achieved a standing ovation from the Eden Gardens crowd, he was severely bashed for body-shaming Bavuma. As of now, the matter is limited to the digital space. But it will be interesting to see if the South African camp gets to know about it and how they would react.
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had …Read More
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had … Read More
November 15, 2025, 00:04 IST
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