'Learn from Bumrah' - Mohammed Shami sends stern message to Indian bowlers after Headingley heartbreak
Indian pacers collectively picked 14 wickets in the Headingley Test.
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India’s five-wicket loss to England in the first Test at Headingley has led to senior pacer Mohammed Shami sending a strong message to the bowling unit. Despite a solid performance from Jasprit Bumrah, who picked a five-wicket haul in the first innings, the rest of the bowling attack failed to provide the required support, resulting in England chasing down 371, their second-highest fourth innings target in Test history.
The defeat meant that India started the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle on an underwhelming note. Notably, India recorded as many as five centuries in the two innings but the poor bowling performance on a surface that had something in it for the pacers meant that the hosts took the game away and secured a lead in the five-match series.
Bumrah finished with figures of 5/83 in the first innings. However, in the second innings, openers Ben Duckett (149) and Zak Crawley (65) tackled Bumrah early and took on the other pacers. Meanwhile, Shami requested India’s bowlers to learn from Bumrah and execute their plans properly.
"In bowling, other Indian bowlers should talk to Bumrah and learn from him. They should talk about planning with him and support him. If they will support Bumrah, then we can easily win the match. If I talk about the first match, then I think we need to do a little work in the bowling," Shami said on his YouTube channel.
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England won because we gave too many easy runs: Shami
Shami, currently recovering from an injury and not part of the squad, watched from the sidelines as the Indian attack failed to put the English batters on the back foot after Bumrah's first-innings brilliance. Mohammed Siraj could not convert his efforts into wickets, while Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna looked ineffective, and Ravindra Jadeja failed to consistently trouble the batters.
"Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets each in the second innings, but by the time Shardul dismissed two England batters, the match was out of India’s reach. It is very important to take wickets with the new ball. They must support Bumrah. England won the first Test because we gave too many easy runs. We need to find out how to make our bowling side strong," he added.
Notably, Siraj was kept out of the attack between overs 42 and 80 on Day 5, despite looking threatening at times apart from Bumrah. Arshdeep Singh, who had a good stint in county cricket, was not picked. However, with a weeks gap for the second Test, the visitors will be looking to change their approach and make a strong comeback.