‘To see him fired up in this fashion is quite rare’ - Sanjay Manjrekar reflects on Jasprit Bumrah’s aggression on Day 1 of SCG Test

Day 1 of the fifth Test between Australia and India of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 was a roller coaster ride for team India. Both sides locked horns in the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground from Friday, January 3 and the clash began with India batting first. 

As has been the case throughout the series, the Indian team failed to perform with the bat in the first innings and were bundled out for a score of 185 runs. However, coming out to bowl, Jasprit Bumrah struck early as the day ended with Australia on a score of nine runs, having lost one wicket in the process. 

The latter stages of Day 1 captured headlines after Jasprit Bumrah got into an altercation with Sam Konstas. Shortly after the argument, Bumrah dismissed Australia opener Usman Khawaja to end the day. Talking about the aggression on display, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar came forward and opined that the entire side is fired up. 

"Yeah, they're all fired up, and it's great to see, right at the end of a long series, this kind of emotion. I mean, Bumrah has been phenomenal, and 'great' doesn’t seem to be enough to describe his performance as a bowler. To see him fired up in this fashion is quite rare. Sam Konstas—there’s something about him that gets under the skin of the Indian players,” Manjrekar told Star Sports.

Also Read: 'All bowlers now have to do is to just bowl in that line' - Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli's outside off stump woes

You saw Virat Kohli in the background as well really fired up: Manjrekar

Furthermore, Manjrekar pointed out how Virat Kohli was really fired up in the background as well. He admitted that the fans have to applaud the cricketers for maintaining the energy at the end of a long series.

“You saw Virat Kohli in the background as well, really fired up. If Bumrah is like this, you know it’s something special. But all in all, you’ve got to applaud the cricketers for having this kind of energy at the end of a long series. Shubman Gill is fired up, and in contrast, it’s good to have someone like Washington Sundar and KL Rahul being calm and calculated. That was fun to see, especially as it was backed up by some high-quality cricket,” he added.