Jasprit Bumrah nearly led India to a remarkable comeback win in the opening Twenty20 International (T20I) against Australia on Sunday. However, Umesh Yadav failed to defend 14 runs in the final as Australia edged out India by three wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Bumrah bowled a breathtaking penultimate over, conceding just two runs and taking as many wickets. The right-arm pacer finished the match with figures of three for 16, becoming only the second Indian bowler to take 50-plus wickets in T20Is after Ravichandran Ashwin. Bumrah is just two wickets away from overtaking Ashwin and becoming India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is.
The three wickets in the opening match meant Bumrah took his career tally in T20Is to 51 wickets, which put him just one behind Ashwin (52 wickets), India’s highest wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game.
India will face Australia in the second and final T20I on Wednesday at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru and Bumrah will have opportunity to leapfrog Ashwin and become the leading wicket-taker for India in T20Is.
Bumrah, though, is still a fair way behind the all-time leading wicket-taker in T20Is — Shahid Afridi, who has 98 scalps to his name. Despite India’s loss in the series opener, skipper Virat Kohli was all praise for Bumrah. Bumrah got Peter Handscomb caught behind for 13 and then bowled Nathan Coulter-Nile off the final ball of the 19th over to keep put India in the driver’s seat before Umesh Yadav conceded 14 runs in the final over.
