India vs England: Jasprit Bumrah decodes the stunning yorker to dismiss Ollie Pope in Vizag Test | Cricket News

As a bowler, what Jasprit Bumrah enjoys the most is problem-solving on the go. One of the most cerebral cricketers in the modern game, the Indian pacer has a knack for understanding the skills he has but in addition, when to use them. Even during the World Cup, in a behind-the-scenes video, his teammates spoke about how having Bumrah around helps the entire bowling unit because he conveys how the pitch is behaving and what the ideal line and length need to be.
That ability came to the fore during a mesmerising spell of reverse swing bowling in the ongoing Vizag Test against England. On Saturday, the 30-year-old pacer produced arguably one of the best displays an Indian pacer on a flat pitch, picking up 6/45. The highlight, without a doubt, was the yorker that he delivered to Ollie Pope, England’s Hyderabad hero. A searing inswinging delivery that sneaked through Pope’s defence before sending the stumps flying.
Decoding the dismissal in the press conference, Bumrah said: “At that time, the ball was relatively hard. So yes, there was some reverse swing. In reverse swing, you don’t have to bowl magical deliveries every ball. So I had bowled a few away-going deliveries and then there was a thought going on in my head that what do I bowl? I should bowl a length delivery coming in or should I go for a yorker? But I had not bowled a yorker till then. I thought okay might as well take a chance with that and it did swing a lot. The execution was good, very happy with that.”

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The 30-year-old who went past the milestone of 150 wickets said that it was very important to get Root and Pope at that time after England were off to a flier on a wicket that was not doing a lot and a little on the slower side. He also spoke about how he grew up admiring bowlers who had the knack for reverse swing.
“In first-class cricket, if you want to take wickets in India, you have to learn to bowl reverse swing,” he said. “Probably, I learned to bowl reverse swing before the conventional swing because you play a lot of cricket on slow wickets. So you understand what you have to do over here. You have to find a way, what are the areas that you have to hit. So, yeah, in the nets, you practice all of those skills and try and execute what are the ways to get wickets.”
For the second match in a row, Ben Stokes had a bemused reaction after being bowled Bumrah. “I attempted an outswing but the ball went straight so I think maybe he had seen the shine and thought the ball would go away but it came in straight and he got bowled,” Bumrah said on what he made of the England captain’s dismissal.