NEW DELHI: India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah‘s comeback to international cricket after an 11-month hiatus was nothing short of a dream. He immediately made a significant impact by claiming two wickets in the opening over of his return during the first T20I against Ireland in Dublin on Friday.
After being hit for a boundary in the very first ball of the innings, skipper Bumrah – who returned figures of 2/24 in his four-over spell – bounced back strongly as he knocked over the stumps of Andrew Balbirnie in the next delivery, leading to his trademark arms out celebration. It was a length ball outside off that swung back viciously, taking Balbirnie’s inside edge before hitting the stumps.
After being hit for a boundary in the very first ball of the innings, skipper Bumrah – who returned figures of 2/24 in his four-over spell – bounced back strongly as he knocked over the stumps of Andrew Balbirnie in the next delivery, leading to his trademark arms out celebration. It was a length ball outside off that swung back viciously, taking Balbirnie’s inside edge before hitting the stumps.
In came Lorcan Tucker, who somehow negotiated the next two balls but eventually lost his patience by going across to a length ball outside off while trying a ramp shot but it ended up in wicket-keeper Sanju Samson‘s hands.
Bumrah, who became the fourth Indian to grab two wickets in the first over of a T20I, was back to his lethal best as he claimed two wickets within five balls in his first over back in international cricket.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the first bowler to take two wickets in the first over for India in a T20I back in 2016 against Sri Lanka in Vizag, followed by paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar against Afghanistan last year in Dubai, and Hardik Pandya did it recently against the West Indies in Providence.