• Home
  • Cricket Analysis
  • Out Of His Element Key Takeaways From Jasprit Bumrahs Bowling Vs Uae Ahead Of Pakistan Clash

Out Of His Element? Key Takeaways From Jasprit Bumrah's Bowling vs UAE Ahead Of Pakistan Clash

Soumyajit Dutta

Jasprit Bumrah [Source: @crazy_aman/X.com]Jasprit Bumrah [Source: @crazy_aman/X.com]

Shivam Dube scalps 3 wickets from his 2 overs against UAE, and Jasprit Bumrah bags only one from his three spells. Sounds a bit odd? Yes, it is, at least for Bumrah's standards and especially against a team like the UAE. Is it concerning for the Indian ace? For the unaware, Bumrah is a world-class bowler with the No.1 ICC Ranking in Test cricket. 

India played their campaign opener for the Asia Cup against the UAE on September 10. Of course, the UAE was dismantled by an array of quality bowling attacks and a reply with a thrashing batting from Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, but the jarring spell from Jasprit Bumrah is what unsettles fans the most, especially ahead of the Pakistan clash on September 14.

How Did Bumrah Perform In The Match Against UAE?

Jasprit Bumrah was not partially out of his element in the match. He bowled three overs and gave away 19 runs at an economy rate of 6.33, whereas an emerging all-rounder like Shivam Dube only gave away 4 runs in his two overs while picking 3 wickets. 

Loose And Low Effort Bowling From Bumrah?

Bumrah is back on the field after his last appearance in Test whites against England in July at Manchester. After almost 1.5 months out of action, it can be understood that he needs time to get back his rhythm. However, if his bowling is analysed, it seems like he missed his lengths often.

Suryakumar decided to give successive spells to Bumrah in the match. He bowled in the second, fourth and sixth over while taking beatings from UAE's Muhammad Waseem. The first over was not up to the mark. Slower balls, off the length, full toss and one of them was hammered for a boundary as he gave away six runs.

His second spell saw a better performance as he gave away only one run in the over while sending back Sharafu, with his trademark yorker. While he was trying to set up Waseem with slower balls and bouncers, Sharafu was trapped ahead of his teammate.

Muhammad Waseem apparently exposed Bumrah's desperation for a wicket in the sixth over as he banged him for three boundaries despite good variation from the Indian speedster. Bumrah tried slow balls, mixing with full-length 140 kmph deliveries too. However, Waseem counterattacked each one of them before falling to Kuldeep Yadav.

Bumrah Struggling To Gain His Rhythm?

The Dubai pitch assists spinners for sure, which was evident with Kuldeep's 4-wicket haul. However, Bumrah's comparatively expensive spells and only one wicket cannot be defended if compared with a newbie all-rounder Shivam Dube's performance against the UAE.

All of this hints to only one bothersome aspect, that the fear factor of Bumrah was not on display against India's curtain raiser in the Asia Cup. It also unsettles India's bowling strength ahead of the high-voltage Pakistan clash, where Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, and Sahibzada Farhan will be ready to hunt on Bumrah's weaknesses.

Bottom Line

Undoubtedly, Bumrah is a cream bowler for India, and he has been a match-winner in almost every big tournament that he has played in. It is now up to his preparations in these three days, how he manages his training sessions and focuses more on the pace and variation aspect while avoiding many full tosses, to get back to becoming the lion of the jungle he is.