Virat Kohli came up with a brilliant plan with Mohammed Siraj to dismiss Steve Smith during Day 4 of the fourth Test match between India and Australia on Sunday. Kohli was caught on the stump mic instructing Siraj to bowl from the corner of the wicket in order to draw the batter wide of the crease. “Kone se, kone se, har ball kone se. Usko pasand hai kone se (Bowl wide from the corner of the wicket. He likes it from there),” In the past, Smith lost his wicket while chasing the deliveries outside the off stump and the plan worked for India as well on Sunday. Smith ended up edging the wide delivery straight to Rishabh Pant and the video of the entire incident has gone viral.
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday became the second fastest Indian along with Ravindra Jadeja to complete 200 Test wickets and the first bowler ever to reach that milestone with a sub-20 average during the fourth day’s play of the fourth Test against Australia.
Bumrah dismissed Travis Head (1) for his 200th victim in the post-lunch session, joining Jadeja in the list of bowlers who are fastest to 200 wickets in Tests.
Both Bumrah and Jadeja achieved the feat in their 44th Test, and overall he is 12th Indian bowler in the format to complete the landmark.
SIRAJ KOHLI….!!!!
– Smith gone & game opened for India at MCG. pic.twitter.com/W1UcNaCWuv
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 29, 2024
The recently retired Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the quickest among Indians to have taken 200 wickets, a feat that he achieved in his 37th Test.
Among all bowlers who have crossed the 200-wickets mark in Test cricket, Bumrah is the only bowler with an average of under 20 which includes some of the fearsome fast bowlers from the West Indies such as Malcolm Marshall (376 wickets at 20.94), Joel Garner (259 wickets at 20), Curtly Ambrose (405 wickets at 20.99) as well as England’s James Anderson (704 wickets at 26.45) and even Glenn McGrath (563 wickets at 21.64).
Ashwin is ranked third in the overall list of bowlers who were fastest to 200 Test wickets, behind two leg-spinners — Pakistan’s Yasir Shah (33 Tests) and Australia’s Clarrie Grimmett (36 Tests).
The dismissal of Head followed by that of Mitchell Marsh‘s (0), caught behind the wicket, as Bumrah took his wickets tally in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to 28.
He had earlier dismissed opener Sam Konstas (8) for his first wicket in Australia’s second innings.
(With PTI inputs)
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