Jasprit Bumrah became the third Indian pacer to take 50 Test wickets or more in a calendar year on day one of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy match in Adelaide on Friday.
Bumrah, bowling on his birthday, achieved the feat by having Aussie opener Usman Khawaja caught at first slip. The Indian vice-captain is also the ninth different Indian bowler to tally more than 50 Test wickets a year.
Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan are the only other Indian pacers to get to the 50-wicket mark. While Kapil crossed over 50 wickets a year twice (1983 and 1979), Zaheer made his mark in 2002.
Bumrah has been enjoying a remarkable year in Test cricket. The right-arm quick’s 50 wickets in the format has come at an incredible average of 15.20.
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In 2024, Bumrah has recorded a scything bowling strike rate of 30.8 – second-best among any pacers who have taken 50 wickets or more in a year, only behind Pakistan great Waqar Younis (29.5 in 1993).
In the first Test against Australia in Perth, Bumrah delivered a match-winning eight-wicket haul as the stand-in skipper.