Australia batting great Allan Border believes there is little difference between West Indies legend Malcolm Marshall and the “extraordinary” Jasprit Bumrah, claiming he has never seen “someone like him” in his life.
Bumrah, who took six wickets for 76 in Australia’s first innings in the ongoing third Test, has been the most consistent bowler in the five-Test series against Australia, taking 18 wickets so far.
He is now the second Indian, after Kapil Dev, to take 50 Test wickets in Australia.
“I can’t really compare him to Marshall because I’ve never faced Bumrah, but I’ve just watched him and there’s not much (between them). Bumrah is extraordinary. He rarely bowls a spell without taking a wicket. He is different,” Border said News Corp.
“Due to his behavior, he released the ball later. And he smiles all the time. He can beat a batsman three times in a row and smile every time. I’ve never seen anyone like him,” he added.
An all-format bowler, Bumrah scored five for 30 in a memorable first-innings performance and three for 42 in the second innings to lead India to a recent 295-run victory in the Perth Test.
Bumrah took 10 five-wicket hauls off Asia, breaking Kapil Dev’s record of nine. The 31-year-old from Ahmedabad has three five-wicket hauls in Australia, three in South Africa and two each in the West Indies and England.
Bumrah’s bowling average of 17.82 (minimum 20 wickets) in Australia statistically makes him the best visiting bowler in over 100 years, ahead of the likes of Richard Hadlee (whose 77 scalps yielded a marginally better 17.83 runs per wicket), Curtly Ambrose (78 wickets at 19.79 in Australia) and Michael Holding (63 at 24.22).
