Jasprit Bumrah hadn’t played an ODI match since November 19, 2023. The day when Australia outplayed India, who were on a generational run, to lift the Cricket World Cup trophy. The ace pacer doesn’t play domestic cricket, with the entire focus on managing his workload and keeping him fresh for international cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah returns to ODI cricket in style
It was his first List A and ODI match in 31 months, or 968 days. But it felt like Bumrah had never stopped playing 50-over cricket. From the moment Shubman Gill handed him the ball to deliver the first over against England in Birmingham, he was on the money. In the first over itself, Bumrah created 3 opportunities to dismiss Ben Duckett.
The ball whizzed past the outside edge twice, and he was almost pinned down in front of the wicket. Bumrah was hitting the 140s again after his pace was down in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He was putting his back into every ball and was generating bounce. Duckett was hit on the gloves and once again beaten in the second over.
His bowling felt like a loop. In every over, he managed to one-up Duckett once or twice but unsuccessfully. He induced several plays and misses in his opening spell of 4 overs but went wicketless. Prasidh Krishna bowled well from the other end and kept the pressure on.
Fewest balls to 150 ODI wickets for India
- 4070 – Mohammed Shami
- 4513 – Kuldeep Yadav
- 4605 – Jasprit Bumrah
- 5027 – Ajit Agarkar
- 5131 – Irfan Pathan
Duckett targetted Gurnoor Brar, who replaced Bumrah, taking him for 20 runs in 8 balls. But all the luck caught up with England. In the 12th over, Gurnoor had both Duckett and Jacob Bethell caught off short balls. The second wicket came about due to a brilliant catch by Bumrah on the third-man boundary.
Gill handed the ball to Bumrah again to have a go at Joe Root and Harry Brook. And the move worked. On the first ball of his second spell, he had Brook caught at first slip with a back-of-length ball that held its line. With that, he picked up his 150th wicket in ODI cricket, becoming the 10th Indian pacer to get there and the 16th Indian bowler overall.
It was also Bumrah’s 31st wicket in England in ODI cricket, taking him past Ravindra Jadeja‘s all-time record. The 32-year-old is also the third quickest Indian bowler to take 150 wickets, doing so in 4,605 balls or 1,535 overs. In simpler terms, he takes 2 wickets per match if bowling his full quota of overs.
In his 6th over, he almost had Jos Buttler as well. Although he’d taken just one of four wickets, Bumrah had given away just 15 runs. The other bowlers had gone for 65 runs in 10 overs. And that’s what separates Bumrah from others. Not only is he the most threatening but also the most economical bowler in the team.
Most ODIs wickets for India in England
- 31 – Jasprit Bumrah
- 30 – Ravindra Jadeja
- 28 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- 27 – Madan Lal
- 26 – Mohammed Shami
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