The Indian cricket team suffered a 1-3 defeat in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Test series after losing the fifth Test against Australia by six wickets at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday, January 5. Despite their three losses in the last four matches of the series, Jasprit Bumrah was by far the X factor of Team India in the BGT, not only with his bowling, but also with the ability to bring the best out of his players as captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma.
Before the first Test of the BGT 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Jasprit Bumrah was given the responsibility of leading the Indian cricket team for just the second time in his career after Rohit Sharma pulled out of the contest due to personal reasons. The 31-year-old grabbed the opportunity of leading India with both hands, and delivered an inspired performance with the ball and as captain in the field in the first Test.
Jasprit Bumrah inspired India to only win in BGT Test series in Perth two months ago
Jasprit Bumrah picked up a five-wicket haul in the Australian first innings, to help bundle them out for just 104 runs in response to India’s 150 before they bounced back strongly with the bat, to score 487/6dec in their second innings. After putting a mammoth target of 534-run target in front of Australia, the Indian captain took three vital wickets, to play a key role in bundling out the hosts for 238 runs, to take a 1-0 lead in the BGT series in Perth.
The right-arm fast bowler kept delivering impressive performances with the ball in the next three Test matches in Adelaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne, taking four, nine, and nine wickets respectively under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy despite India not winning any of these. After getting the leadership role for the second time in the BGT 2024-25, following the decision of the captain to opt out of the playing XI at the SCG, Jasprit Bumrah broke down during the Australian first innings after taking two wickets, which proved to be big difference for India as they lost a relatively close match.
Regardless, Jasprit Bumrah troubled all the Australian batters at various stages in the BGT series, taking 32 wickets in just nine innings at a mind-blowing average of 13.06 and a strike-rate of 28.27 while conceding runs at just 2.76 to the over. He is now the highest wicket-taker for India at an away Test series, and for his performances down under over the past couple of months, the player of the series award in the BGT was given to him.
