Stats: Jasprit Bumrah completes 50 wickets in Test cricket

Jasprit Bumrah didn’t take much time for settling down to the Test cricket after making a good start in the limited-overs formats. He made his longer format debut at the start of 2018 during India’s tour of South Africa. Bumrah played a crucial part in India’s four away Test victories in 2018 including their maiden Test series win on the Australian soil. Across nine Test matches in 2018, Bumrah claimed 48 wickets with help of three 5-wicket hauls.

Only Terry Alderman (54 wickets in 1981) and Curtly Ambrose (49 wickets in 1988) picked more Test wickets during the debut year than Bumrah’s 48. In the ongoing Test match, Bumrah dismissed Darren Bravo with the first ball he bowled after Tea on day two. That wicket was Jasprit Bumrah’s 50th in Test cricket. The Gujarat-born needed only 11 matches to claim his 50th Test wicket.

Fastest to 50 wickets in Test cricket by Indian pacers:

Thus, Bumrah became the quickest Indian pacer to complete 50 wickets in Test cricket. Bumrah needed two matches less than the previous fastest Indian pacers – Venkatesh Prasad (13 Tests) and Mohammed Shami (13 Tests). In overall among the Indians, Jasprit is only behind Ravichandran Ashwin (9 Tests) and Anil Kumble (10 Tests) in the list of quickest to 50 Test wickets.

Narendra Hirwani and Harbhajan Singh also needed 11 matches for the milestone of 50 wickets in Test cricket. In terms of balls bowled, Bumrah leads the Indian list. The speedster’s 50th wicket came on the 2465th legitimate delivery bowled in Test cricket. In this process, Bumrah broke the record held by Ravichandran Ashwin in 2597 deliveries.

Fastest to 50 wickets in Test cricket by Indians:

Jasprit Bumrah could have got to this milestone in his 10th Test only if not for the weather. Bumrah had 48 wickets in only nine Test matches prior to the Sydney Test earlier this year. He bowled 21 overs for one wicket in the first innings but had a chance of bowling only two overs in the 2nd essay. Had Bumrah completed this milestone during that Sydney Test, he could have been the joint-fastest Asian pacer to 50 wickets in Test cricket.

Fastest to 50 wickets in Test cricket by Asian pacers:

(Stats as on August 23, 2019)