Bumrah finds a way to breach Amla’s defence
JOHANNESBURG: India seamer Jasprit Bumrah said sticking to the basics and not giving into the temptation of trying harder on a spicy Wanderers pitch helped take his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests. Bumrah took the vital wickets of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock before wiping out the tail.
“On such wickets there is always a temptation you try harder. So, at such times you have to stay in control and bowl disciplined lines. You have to tell self if you bowl good lines the wickets will come,” he said.
The pick of his wicket was Hashim Amla. Bumrah said his shuffling prompted him to bowl fuller. “The ball was doing so much he was trying to do something else. That was working for him. We thought we will probably use one fuller ball straight up,” he said.
Amla said: “The wickets have been pretty tough to bat on. It’s nice we are coming on this type of wicket 2-0 up. It does help in that respect, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Try your best and get as many runs as possible...”
Bumrah came up the ranks as a great option in limited-overs, but has been a revelation in this series. The seamer said seeking seniors’ advice on how to bowl in Tests helped in the transition.
“It’s very good people have opinions, but my basic aim was wherever I go, I focus on the present... (see) what works in redball cricket and try to ask questions to all successful bowlers what has worked for them. All senior bowlers have advised me to keep things simple.”
Amla is confident South Africa can chase down any total. “It’s evenly poised... Even if we have to chase 300, it’s fine...”
PITCH SLAMMED
Shaun Pollock and Sunil Gavaskar criticised the pitch on TV. “If you’ve got deliveries behaving like this on Day 2, it can’t be a good surface.”
“You go to India and get a surface like Nagpur (ICC rated it poor in 2015) where it turned too much.” Gavaskar said: “You can get a very flat surface which is totally in favour of batsmen. This is a pitch which is totally in favour of bowlers.”