“See, we don’t as a team point fingers at each other and we don’t want to get into that mindset where we are pointing fingers at each other (and say) that ‘you should do this, you should do that’ .
“Obviously, we, as a team, are going through a transition where new players are coming here and it’s not the easiest place to play cricket. Over here, it’s a different atmosphere with this wicket being a different challenge. So yeah, we’ re not looking at that.
“Obviously, as a bowling unit, as I said, we are in transition, so it’s my job to help the others. I have played a little more than them, so I am trying to help them. But again, everyone will learn through it, will get better and eventually will find different ways. So this is the journey that you’ll have to go through.”
India are 51 for 4 after two days’ play, trailing Australia by 394 runs. Bumrah picked up his second five-for of the series. He has 18 wickets across the three matches so far at an average of 11.72. His closest ally is Siraj, who has picked up 11 wickets at an average of 25, and has been a target for the crowd since he gave Travis Head a send-off in the last Test.
“We have had conversations but this was the conversation he had with me before we came (to Australia),” Bumrah said of Siraj. “I think when we came here in Perth, as well as the last game, he looked in very good spirits. He was bowling well and he has picked up a fair few of the wickets. In this game, I think I’ll give Credit him that he had a little bit of a niggle but he still kept on bowling and still helped the team because he knew if he goes inside and he doesn’t bowl, then that team will go under pressure a great attitude and he has got a fighter spirit that the team loves.
“In terms of wickets and all, some days you will bowl well, the wickets will come as I spoke to him before and some days you will not bowl very well but the wickets will follow. So it is all money in the bank, that is the conversation that I have had with him.
“You keep focusing on your stuff, things that you can control, keep running in, keep having a smile on his face. You wanted to play Test cricket, you are doing that. Your family is really proud of you.
“You are doing something that not many have done before. So I think he is in a very good space, that is what I know of. I don’t know what else is happening but he has got a great attitude and that is a very big positive for us.”
Australia has given Bumrah a lot of challenges to work on and he has thoroughly enjoyed that. “The Test match that we played in Perth, the wicket was different, Adelaide pink ball was different, the wicket behaved different, the ball behaved differently and here it is a little different because the wicket is at a level and the run up is low. So in India, we are not used to that.
“I always look forward to all of that and I always look to find answers. So that has always been my biggest happiness that if I come across a problem or if I come across a certain situation, I look at how do I solve it, what can I do in this scenario rather than whinging or pointing fingers that I need this from this person. I have been happy with the way the ball has been coming out and yeah, looking forward to contributing even more.”
The one thing that continues to stump him and the rest of the Indian bowling attack though is Head. He has top-scored in three innings for Australia – two of which, the first innings in Adelaide and the first innings in Brisbane, were rescue acts that took a game in the balance to one of considerable strength for his team.
“The Kookaburra ball, once the seam goes down and it becomes soft, it becomes relatively easier to bat when the wicket is not offering a lot,” Bumrah said. “So then you have to find solutions. How do you make run-scoring difficult? What fields do you want to have? What is an individual’s strength? So it may differ from people to people.
“We’ve got someone like Rishabh Pant who does that as well. But all of those scenarios are very difficult for bowlers sometimes. Because you bowl a certain number of overs, the ball is not doing a lot. You can’t take an attacking option. So it’s a puzzle that sometimes you can solve. Sometimes, if somebody plays well, you have to take notice of it and you say, ‘well played’.”
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
