Steve Waugh thinks it is Jasprit Bumrah who has made the difference

It is difficult to find Australians who have not liked Jasprit Bumrah in the ongoing Test series against India which is turning out to be historic. From Dennis Lillee to Glenn McGrath to Michael Clarke, now another former great Steve Waugh has expressed his admiration for the young pacer who has taken up 20 wickets in the first three Tests Down Under and finished his maiden year in Test cricket with 48 scalps, lesser than just three bowlers. In the third Test, Bumrah returned with match figures of 9 for 86 which helped India win the game by 137 runs and take an unassailable 2-1 lead.

Waugh, who played his last Test series against India at home in 2003-04, believed that the fast bowler made the difference between the two teams as India marched strongly towards winning their first-ever Test series Down Under. Virat Kohli’s team looked to be in a strong position in the fourth and final Test in Sydney by putting up a total of 622 for 7 declared. Australia are no left with the option of saving the Test and even if they succeed, the Baggy Greens will not be able to stop India from winning their second successive Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“(Jasprit) Bumrah has been a revelation – he’s been the difference between the two sides. He gets some breakthroughs, he’s got good longevity and he can bowl long spells. Their (India’s) bowling attack has been excellent, and obviously Pujara has been the key to the batting. He’s just occupied the crease, and then you’ve got Kohli coming in around that,” Waugh told cricket.com.au in Sydney, his home town.

Kohli a strong leader, says Waugh

The former Australia captain, who won the World Cup in 1999, also lauded India’s improvement as a formidable unit with all players making key contributions. While the batsmen led by Cheteshwar Pujara have delivered, the bowling unit was always at its performing best. Pujara came up with three centuries in the series, complementing Bumrah’s 20-wicket haul so far. He also called captain Virat Kohli a “strong leader”.

“They (India) look a really strong unit together, they work for each other really well and the captain is a strong leader. All the other guys fall in line and their bowling attack has been outstanding. India’s tactics have been really good, they’ve thought about how they’re going to go about this series,” Waugh stated.

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