Dravid praises Bumrah for his dominant performance in Perth

Former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has praised pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for his exceptional performance in the Perth Test against Australia. Dravid commended Bumrah for taking the game by the scruff of the neck and "cracking it open" with his impressive five-wicket haul, which contributed to India's victory.

Bumrah's five wicket haul in the first innings gave India a 46-run lead while centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli helped India swell the lead to an extent that Aussies could never stage a comeback. India won the first Test by 295 runs at Perth, ending Australia's perfect record at the venue. Bumrah was given the 'Player of the Match' award for his spell and made his return to the top of the ICC Men's Test Rankings bowling charts.

Speaking on Star Sports, Dravid said, "If you talk about someone take a game by the scruff of the neck and absolutely cracking it open, that was exactly what Bumrah did with that spell in that first evening, and then even in the second innings he picked up a lot of crucial wickets as well."

"Being captain, leading from the front, taking the game and saying, 'Give it to me and I will show you what I can do and how I can turn it around.' Brilliant from Bumrah and he has just shown it so much in all formats of the game. The number of times he does it for us is absolutely incredible and hats off to him," Dravid added.

In the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. However, they were dismissed for just 150 runs, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rishabh Pant playing crucial knocks and adding a vital 48-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

Josh Hazlewood was the standout bowler for Australia, with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, and Mitchell Starc claiming two wickets each. Australia's reply was even worse, as they were reduced to 79/9 before Mitchell Starc and Alex Carey took the total to 104, giving India a slender lead of 46 runs.Jasprit Bumrah starred for India with figures of 5/30 in 18 overs, while debutant Harshit Rana impressed with 3/48.

In their second innings, India amassed a massive lead. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal put up a 201-run opening partnership. Despite losing quick wickets, an unbeaten 100 by Virat Kohli , supported by Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy , propelled India to 487/6 declared, setting Australia a daunting target of 534 runs.

Nathan Lyon was the best bowler for Australia, with Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood taking one wicket each.

At stumps on Day 3, Australia were 12/3, with Bumrah taking two wickets and Mohammed Siraj one. On Day 4, despite valiant efforts from Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh , Australia were bowled out for 238, giving India a resounding 295-run victory.Bumrah and Siraj led the bowling in the second innings, while Washington Sundar took two wickets, and Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana picked one each.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.