Jasprit Bumrah was unplayable in Perth. In Adelaide, he’ll be even more dangerous

Australia’s spluttering top order will look to pressure Indian star Jasprit Bumrah in Friday’s day-night Test as the pink ball makes the world’s best fast bowler an even more dangerous prospect.

How Australia’s batting line-up handles Bumrah – who sits atop the ICC’s Test bowling rankings – looms as a potentially series-defining battle given his impressive numbers in day-night Tests and the otherwise limited pink ball experience of his fast bowling teammates.

Bumrah and veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin – expected to return to India’s XI after Washington Sundar was preferred in Perth – boast the best pink-ball averages of current Test bowlers.

Australia’s pace attack, headlined by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, and welcoming Scott Boland in for Josh Hazlewood (side strain), has proved particularly prolific in 11 wins from 12 pink-ball outings.

Starc, especially, is a different proposition under lights, claiming more wickets – 66 at 18.71 – in day-night Tests than any player in history.

But Bumrah, too, threatens to become even more lethal than his match-winning exploits in the first Test given his 10 scalps from three day-night matches have come at just 14.50, stepping down from his elite overall Test average of 20.06.

Tactical approaches to the pink ball under lights will dictate Australia’s bid to square up the series, and none more so than their handling of Bumrah, given Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy have never played a day-night Test.

“It looked like in that first innings that [Bumrah] was going to get a wicket every ball in that first spell,” Boland said of Bumrah’s blistering day-one assault in Perth.

“As someone who loves bowling, it was pretty good to watch. But after we’ve played him once, we can try and put a bit of pressure back on him in this next Test.

“It’s definitely not panic stations in our change rooms. There’s also going to be some chats around individual performances, and everyone wants to perform really well every game they play. We’ve lost one game. It’s not toys out of the cot.”

Jasprit Bumrah’s eight wickets in Perth earned him man-of-the-match honours.Credit: AP

India’s second Test preparations were hampered on Saturday when the first day of the Prime Minister’s XI match was washed out, shortening the pink-ball fixture to a one-day, 50-over affair on Sunday which was also affected by rain.

India’s last of four day-night Tests was in March 2022, and their last day-night Test in Adelaide ended with the tourists being bowled out for 36 in 2020.

Ashwin took 4-55 in the first innings of that Test and boasts an impressive 18 wickets at 13.83 in day-night games.

Boland is no slouch himself with the pink-ball. He has taken seven wickets at 13.71 from two day-night Tests, and his accuracy and seam movement have proved a handful under lights.

“I feel like the teams that bat first can sort of time when they want to bowl, if they bat really well on their first day, because if you get a newish ball at night, it can be pretty lethal,” Boland said.

“If batters are coming in, they’ve batted through the daytime, they get through to the night session. I think it’s been a couple of instances where the ball hasn’t dominated the bat.

“I think maybe last year at the Gabba [against West Indies] we took the new ball and didn’t get as many wickets as we would have hoped in that night session.

“But now back to Adelaide, I think they produce a really good cricket wicket that really suits the pink ball and helps it last a bit longer because it does get a little bit softer after 30, 40 overs compared to a red ball.”

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