IND vs ENG: Jasprit Bumrah - The Most Effective Antidote against Bazball

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In the world of Test cricket, the sudden emergence of Bazball was a fresh nuisance for all the opponent bowlers. England's adopted strategy to hit the ball instead of leave in a Test match was a de novo approach which has been hailed across the globe.

England's Test team coach Brendon McCullum, who himself was a destructive batter, adopted the method to provide entertainment in the five-day game and thus has been primarily successful in implementing that.

The matches involving England generally has seen a huge number of runs scored at a rapid pace. Conventional Test cricketers like Joe Root, Ollie Pope have gone berserk at the crease, and have attempted reverse sweeps, scoops and many other innovations to keep up the scoring rate. It provides enthralling batting instead of the so-called boring Test approach.

And once an English cricket editor named Andrew Miller used the term 'Bazball' (Baz is Brendon McCullum's nickname), it has spread across the world and has become a new term in cricket.

England have done reasonably well since McCullum took charge of the team. They haven't lost a Test series so far with McCullum at the helm, and have played a fantastic brand of aggressive cricket on the field.

India was their final frontier. Bazball's efficacy on Indian pitches was a big ask and the English batters have done moderately thus far. Ollie Pope's 196 in Hyderabad epitomized the vision of Bazball and it was at its sublime best. Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes have also shown their prowess as batters in the series.

Jasprit Bumrah - the Antidote of Bazball

But the only bowler who has dealt the Bazball effectively is Jasprit Bumrah. The English batters have stumbled to him regularly so far in this Test series. Bumrah's class as a bowler is quite vivid as the Indian pacer has 15 wickets in two matches already in the series.

He has eclipsed all the bowlers thus far in the series, and even after bowling on rank turners, the way Bumrah has left his imprint is nothing but outstanding.

The Indian bowlers have travelled with an economy of more than 4 runs per over. Ravichandran Ashwin (4.09), Ravindra Jadeja (4.21), Axar Patel (4.38) all have conceded runs in patches in the first two matches. But when it comes to Jasprit Bumrah, the stats speak a different story.

Whenever he has bowled, the England players have failed to find an answer. Bumrah was saying after the second match that he doesn't keep track of numbers, but the numbers don't lie and the pacer has cracked in every department so far.

Bumrah has thus far bowled 57.5 overs in the first two matches and has gone at an economy of 2.77 runs per over. The Indian pacer has conceded 160 runs and picked up 15 scalps in the first two matches.

He has already bamboozled the England captain Ben Stokes twice, picked up crucial wickets and none of the English batters could play their Bazball against the Indian pacer. The 30-year-old has varied his length and has bowled in a tight line, and with his class, has so far worked as the perfect antidote for Bazball.

India is likely to rest Bumrah for the upcoming Test in Rajkot, and that can be a leeway for England and a massive relief for them. In the fast-forward approach of their style, the only brakes have come from Bumrah, and India will have to capitalize on that.