India opened the Test series against Australia with a dominant win, thanks largely to Jasprit Bumrah’s relentless bowling. He made life miserable for debutant Bryce McSweeney right from the start, hitting him with inswingers, seamers, and balls that held their line. Bumrah mixed up his deliveries masterfully, using subtle variations in seam and bounce that kept the batters guessing, and often frozen. McSweeney fell twice to Bumrah, both times after being set up with clever changes in line and length.
Marnus Labuschagne didn’t fare much better. Though he survived longer, he was repeatedly targeted with bodyline deliveries, then drawn into edges and lbw shouts. Bumrah’s control over seam movement was on full display, setting traps over multiple overs. He even had Labuschagne reviewing a clear lbw, just to burn a review out of frustration. Steve Smith’s stay was brief, falling to a sharp inswinger on the first ball he faced. Bumrah nearly completed a hat-trick but missed out against Travis Head, though the ball he bowled was a gem that sliced in sharp and low.
Virat Kohli dropped a chance early but made up for it later with a clean catch off Usman Khawaja, who had looked more comfortable than most. Bumrah didn’t just take wickets, he broke batters down mentally. His ability to make two identical deliveries behave differently after pitching gave him complete control. By stumps on day three, India declared and put Australia back in to bat. Bumrah struck again almost immediately, trapping McSweeney lbw with another deceptive setup. Australia ended the day battered, with Bumrah delivering one of the most skillful spells seen in recent Test matches.