Rohit Sharma under pressure as Jasprit Bumrah excels as captain in Perth

Jasprit Bumrah's performance in this match was a true personal victory. Not only did he take eight wickets, but he also showed remarkable leadership skills by rallying his team after a disappointing batting collapse on the first day. Bumrah was quick to credit his teammates for their contributions, but it was his exceptional bowling with the new ball in both innings that truly stood out. He completely shut down any chances for the Australian team to make a comeback, proving himself to be a force to be reckoned with.

In four previous outings at the Optus Stadium, Australia had registered four convincing wins. They believed, despite the fact that they were playing a Test after an eight-month hiatus, that they were well prepared and perfectly positioned to land the first sucker punch and must have been delighted that despite losing the toss, they were out batting within four hours of the start of the game. But that was as good as it got for the hosts, who endured one of their worst days in a home Test on Sunday’s day three when India made a massive statement that could have a decisive say in how the rest of the showdowns pan out.

By keeping Australia’s ageing bowling group on the park for nearly 135 overs, India indicated that there is more to them than just attractive, imperious stroke-making. No one exemplified that better than Yashasvi Jaiswal, with the reputation of being an attack-minded batter. Jaiswal knuckled down to produce what Bumrah called his best Test innings, a seven-hour compilation that brought him 161 in the clearest sign that even this early in his career, he is a thinking and versatile cricketer whose adaptability could turn out to be his biggest virtue.

Bumrah presented Rohit Sharma with the perfect gift on the arrival of the latter’s second child last week. The captain linked up with his mates on Sunday evening and was at the nets on Monday afternoon, batting against the pink ball in preparation for the second Test in Adelaide, a day-night affair, from December 6. Bumrah had been in constant touch with Rohit before the latter left Mumbai, discussing plans and strategies in a wonderful synergy that augurs well for the Indian side.

What India will miss about Jasprit Bumrah's captaincy in Adelaide

On his own, Bumrah was more than a handful. His brilliance lay both in his extraordinary bowling – he was already in the heads of the Australian batters before a ball was bowled and they will now be doubly wary of his prowess – and in the way he worked the pieces around on the field, like a Super Grandmaster plotting and planning on the chess board. His bowling changes were spot on and when he felt the need for an experienced head to bounce ideas off, he could turn to Virat Kohli, KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant.

Bumrah extracted the best out of debutants Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, neither looking out of place in the cauldron of Test cricket in general, and of Test cricket in Australia specifically. Nitish bared his batting propensity while Rana was hostile and aggressive without getting carried away, taking cues from Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj and ensuring that he used the pace and the bounce in the Optus surface to the optimum instead of allowing his exuberance to get the better of him.

India will be the stronger for the return in Adelaide of Rohit and Shubman Gill, the in-form No. 3 who has recovered completely from the broken left thumb that kept him out of the Perth heist. In a way, Bumrah has put Rohit under a little bit of pressure; the T20 World Cup-winning captain has inherited a side that played to its full potential in the first Test despite the relative lack of experience of various pieces of the gigantic jigsaw puzzle. The onus will be on him to carry forward the good work of his deputy. Rohit will be grateful that when it comes to the crunch, he has a certain Jasprit Bumrah to fall back on.

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