India vs Australia: Jasprit Bumrah eyes change of fortunes in milestone ODI

Australia kept the series alive courtesy of their 32-run win in Ranchi after losing the first two matches in Vizag and Nagpur respectively.

cricket Updated: Mar 10, 2019 11:32 IST

File image of India pacer Jasprit Bumrah in action during a training session.(PTI)

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be playing his 100th international match when India take on Australia in the fourth ODI of the series at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Sunday. So far he has played 10 Tests, 47 ODIs and 42 T20Is for India and the fourth clash of the series will be his 100th appearance.

Australia kept the series alive courtesy of their 32-run win in Ranchi after losing the first two matches in Vizag and Nagpur respectively. The hosts will now have to regain their top form in order to claim series win at a venue where they haven’t beaten their opponents in 23 years.

For this to happen, Bumrah will need to reignite his form which saw him becoming the number one bowler in ODIs. Since his return into the side after being rested, Bumrah has scalped just seven wickets in five matches across formats. To make matters worse, he went wicketless in couple of matches against Australia and India went on to lose both the contests.

2nd T20I – Overs: 4, Runs: 30, Wickets: 0, Econ: 7.5

3rd ODI – Overs: 10, Runs: 53, Wickets: 0, Econ: 5.3

Bumrah’s overall ODI numbers are incredible as his economy rate stands at 4.46 and his strike rate column reads less than 30. However, in the three ODIs so far, he has picked just four wickets giving away 142 runs at an average of 35.50.

Furthermore, he gave away 60 runs in his full quota of 10 overs in the first ODI — fifth most runs conceded by the pacer in ODIs. The last time Bumrah was taken for more than 60 runs in ODIs was against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

In the fourth ODI at Ranchi, Bumrah returned with figures of 0/53 in 10 overs and this was the seventh time in his career that he went wicketless in the 50-over format of the game.

With just two international matches to go before the all-important World Cup, Bumrah will look to perform at his optimum level and get back to his best for the showpiece tournament in the UK.

First Published: Mar 10, 2019 11:32 IST