Jasprit Bumrah claimed his third five-wicket haul to wrap up Australia’s first innings on 151 on day three of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. Bumrah picked the wickets of Marcus Harris, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Tim Paine, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood to become the first Asian bowler to take five-wicket hauls in Australia, England and South Africa in the same calendar year.
The 25-year-old waded into the Australian batting lineup with figures of 6/33, the best for an Indian fast bowler Down Under since 1985. These are also the career-best figures for Bumrah in Tests, bettering the 5/54 he claimed against South Africa at Johannesburg in January.
With 45 wickets under his belt now, Bumrah also surpassed Dileep Doshi to register most wickets for India in his debut year in Test cricket. In 1979, Dileep Doshi took 40 wickets in his debut Test year, which was a record till Bumrah broke it in 2018.
Venkatesh Prasad is third on the list with 37 wickets in 1996. Narendra Hirwani with 36 wickets in 1988 and S Sreesanth with 35 in 2006 complete the top five.
