Former England swashbuckling batsman Kevin Pietersen has heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah stating that the Indian gun fast bowler reminds him of former South African great Dale Steyn, who announced his retirement last week. Bumrah bowled the spell of the summer as he breathed down the neck of England’s batsmen with the reverse swing in the second innings of the Oval Test match.
The Indian pacer was right on the money as his spell, which read 6-3-6-2. Bumrah breached Ollie Pope’s defense with a peach of a delivery and then clean bowled Jonny Bairstow with a nagging in-swinging yorker. Bumrah could have also dismissed Joe Root but the England captain was able to keep out two yorkers at bay.
Bumrah consistently bowled above 140 km/h in that spell and he was all pumped. In fact, Dale Steyn also took to his Twitter account to laud Bumrah’s breathtaking spell, which will be remembered for a long time.
Bumrah had his tail up during that sensational spell and bowled in the right-areas as he got the old ball to reverse.
“He can build long spells, but also bowl with intensity, accuracy, pace, and discipline. In that sense, he reminds me of Dale Steyn, who announced his retirement last week. Steyn, for me, is the greatest fast bowler of all time, largely because he did it in all conditions.
“Bumrah might never hit the heights of Steyn, but his ability to tear through an opposition in any part of the world sets him apart,” Pietersen wrote for Betway.
On the other hand, India took a 2-1 series against England. India has already beaten Australia twice in their own backyard and Pietersen added that this Indian team is becoming one of the best we have seen in the Test match format as they are dominating in all the conditions.
“This team is becoming one of the best we’ve seen in the Test match format. If they can get the job done at Old Trafford then they will have beaten Australia and England away in the last 12 years – a historic achievement. They are a much better side than England, that’s for sure.”
