Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah struck early on his return to international cricket after recovering from a knee injury. The speedster dismissed Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a two-ball duck in the ongoing first T20I between the sides in Delhi.
Bumrah started with a down-the-leg-side delivery that went for five wides after India elected to field first. However, he bounced back by getting rid of the dangerous Gurbaz with his second legal delivery of the match.
The ace seamer bowled a back-of-a-length delivery on off stump. Gurbaz was undone by the extra bounce and ended up edging to the slips, where Abhishek Sharma plucked out a sharp low catch.
With the dismissal, Bumrah completed 350 wickets in T20 cricket. He became the second Indian pacer after Bhuvneshwar Kumar to reach the milestone.
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Notably, Bumrah suffered a knee injury while fielding in India’s second ODI of the three-match series against England in July. He underwent rehabilitation at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence and regained full fitness ahead of the Afghanistan series.
“It’s a luxury to have him in the squad” – Shreyas Iyer on Jasprit Bumrah’s return
Speaking at the toss, Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer spoke about the importance of having an experienced player like Jasprit Bumrah in the squad. Hailing the fast bowler as a match-winner, Iyer said (via Cricbuzz):
“I think it’s a luxury to have him [Jasprit Bumrah] in the squad because he’s immensely experienced and he carries a lot of great attitude when it comes to winning matches. So, we know he’s a match-winner, and we know what he’s got to offer.”
Meanwhile, Afghanistan skipper Ibrahim Zadran was dismissed in the fourth over. He perished while looking to steal a double after hitting the ball towards deep midwicket. Ishan Kishan did a brilliant job in the deep and fired a stunning throw at the bowler’s end. At the time of writing, Afghanistan were 39/3 after five overs.
Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai
