Premier India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who took a five-wicket haul on Day 2 of the third Test against South Africa, is all praise for Team India skipper Virat Kohli. The speedster expressed that Kohli always gives bowlers a lot of motivation and brings a lot of energy to the side.
India bowled out South Africa for 210, gaining a slender 13-run lead. The Indian pacer Bumrah had made his Test debut at Newlands, Cape Town in 2018 and four years later, he returned with five wickets.
“I made my Test debut under Virat Kohli, it is always wonderful. He is always there to back us and he always gives all the bowlers a lot of motivation. He brings a lot of energy to the side. It is always good to play under him. It has been special as I started my Test journey in Cape Town and then to come back here, I am very happy. Personal performances are always good but when you give impact performances, that gives you more satisfaction,” said Bumrah during a virtual press conference after stumps on Day 2.
Bumrah’s dominant bowling performance backed up by a gritty batting performance by Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli helped India recover some lost ground against South Africa on Day 2. At stumps, India’s score read 57/2– with the visitors extending their lead to 70 runs. Kohli (14*) and Pujara (9*) are currently unbeaten at the crease.
“There is always a lot of noise but the success, whatever comes is a byproduct. So basically what I try to do is have a routine and follow it again and again. Someday I would get a wicket, someday someone else would get the wicket. We as a unit want to focus on our routines, there will be doubters but that is something an individual has to decide. When I have paid attention to outside noise, it does not help. I try to control what is there in my control,” said Bumrah.
“Playing in South Africa, I made my Test debut on this ground so it is special to come back to this ground where I started my Test journey. We were trying to focus on the game, we are trying to focus on what we can do and everyone wants to contribute. We wanted to create pressure, in the last game we had an injury (Siraj). Here everybody was fine,” he added.
When asked what would be a safe total on Cape Town wicket, Bumrah said: “Obviously, there is no magic number that I can say right now that this is the magic number. We will have to assess the wicket quickly. We have bowled on it, it is a new ball wicket. There is some seam movement with the new ball and as soon as the ball gets older, the seam goes down and it gets easier. It would be important for us to have good partnerships.”
