IND vs AUS | I don’t look at statistics and put unnecessary pressure on myself, states Jasprit Bumrah

In the absence of both Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah desperately needed to stand up for team India in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and stand up he did - big time. After claiming a four-wicket haul in the first innings to restrict the Aussies to 195, the Gujarat speedster toiled hard in the second dig, bowling an exhausting 27 overs, but kept the hosts in check by relentlessly testing them.

He eventually finished with six wickets in the game, taking his overall tally at the MCG to 15 wickets in 2 Tests. Bumrah’s four efforts at the MCG read 6/33, 3/53, 4/56 and 2/54, and he now averages a remarkable 13.06 at the venue despite it being one of the more flatter wickets in the country.

Speaking after his monumental effort in the second innings, though, the 27-year-old revealed that he never pays attention to statistics, and is only focused on the job in hand.

“I don't look at stats and put unnecessary pressure on myself. I just look to do the basics,” Bumrah told host broadcaster Fox after Australia got bowled out for 200 in their second innings.

Bumrah bowled long and hard spells in the second innings at the MCG, particularly on the morning of Day 4, and a reason for the same was India being a bowler short, after Umesh Yadav sustained a calf injury on Day 3. Bumrah, however, asserted that he and the other bowlers did not want the ‘one bowler short’ factor to become an excuse, and instead were keen to trouble the Aussie batters by bowling collectively as a unit.

“The chat was to not complain about being a bowler short and to try and make the run-scoring hard for their batsmen. We were just trying to help each other and have good communication with each other.”