Bumrah feels Ashwin will play crucial role
Nathan Lyon has been using the rough patches effectively during the ongoing Indian second innings which is an indicator that Ravichandran Ashwin will have a bigger role to play during Australian second innings, reckons pacer Jasprit Bumrah.
India are currently 166 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand and two days of play left in the first Test. “Ashwin will obviously play a more crucial role because with the rough, we saw Nathan Lyon using the rough to his advantage. He is an experienced bowler and knows what he has to do. So he will probably work on it and he will play a crucial role for sure,” Bumrah said at the end of the second day’s play.
India dismissed Australia for 235 in their first innings and it was a collective effort from the bowlers, who shared the spoils. “We were trying to figure out the lengths that are useful over here. In South Africa and England, there was a lot of lateral movement. Here the wickets are slightly flatter because you get bounce, but you have to be consistent.
“That’s the thing we have read over the years. We were trying to focus on that, that if we don’t give runs, we are creating pressure from both ends and then we could get wickets,” said Bumrah.
Bumrah is confident that India will take a substantial lead on day four. “I think it is slightly in our favour because the late wicket (Kohli) was a good thing for them. But we have a good lead.”