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Bumrah rewrites script for ‘special’ India triumph
DHAKA ﻿TUESDAY﻿ ﻿NOVEMBER﻿ ﻿26﻿, ﻿2024﻿, AGRAHAYAN 11, 1431 BS
AGENCIES
India overcame an unpromising start to thrash Australia by 295 runs in the first Test at Perth Stadium on Monday, laying down the gauntlet for the rest of the series and putting to bed any question marks about their form.
Stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah led from the front with 3-42, named player-of-the-match after earlier picking up 5-30, as India wrapped up the comprehensive win well inside four days to take a 1-0 lead in the five-game series.
Set a mountainous 534 for victory, the world’s top-ranked Test team crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four.
“Obviously, a special win, my first win as captain, I’m very happy with that and more happy with the performance of the team. We were put under pressure and showed character,” Bumrah told reporters after the match.
“Whenever tough scenarios come, I ask myself ‘how I can contribute?’ We’re a new side so I wanted to put myself in tough scenarios when we needed to do something, to make the job a bit easier for the new guys coming in.”
It was an astonishing turnaround for India, who arrived in Australia on the back of a humiliating 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand.
Given little hope of defending the Border-Gavaskar Trophy they have held since 2017, they now head to the second day-night Test in Adelaide next week with a big psychological advantage and boosted by the return of skipper Rohit Sharma.
Under Bumrah’s makeshift captaincy, India dominated an ageing side which is now the one facing scrutiny after failing to fire.
Out for a dismal 104 in reply to India’s first-innings 150, the hosts’ bowling attack then had no reply to a brilliant 161 from impressive young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and an unbeaten 100 from Virat Kohli.
Bumrah bowled magnificently throughout the match on a surface that was all fizz and bounce on day one when 17 wickets fell but turned into a lifeless road that defied Australia’s bowlers for the best part of two days.
Bumrah, who will now hand the reins back to new-dad Rohit Sharma, however Bumrah warned his India side against complacency after their emphatic victory.
“But it was here. Adelaide might be totally different, it’s a pink ball.
“So yes, you can take the confidence from here, but again, you have to start from zero. You have to build on from confidence. You have to take learnings from this game.
“And there were learnings for us in this game, so we’re going to take it in our stride and put our best foot forward.”

JR ASIA CUP HOCKEY

‘Final at the beginning’ for Bangladesh
SPORTS REPORTER
Keeping sights on a spot in next year’s Junior World Cup, Bangladesh are looking to make a winning start in the Junior Asia Cup against Oman in ‘the final at the beginning’ in Muscat today.
Bangladesh have been placed in Pool B alongside Pakistan, Malaysia, China and Oman, with six out of total 10 teams advancing into the Junior World Cup, which will be held in India in 2025.
The opening match is crucial for Bangladesh to finish either third or fourth in the pool in a bid to staying in race. Bangladesh had beaten Oman beat 7-6 in shootout to emerge champions in the AHF Qualifiers earlier this. The men in red and green have also beaten the same opposition five times in last three Junior Asia Cups.
“For us, it is like a final match at the beginning of the tournament because we want to finish either third or fourth in the pool,” head coach Moududur Rahman Shuvo told The Daily Star over phone from Oman yesterday.
Under Shuvo’s guidance, Bangladesh trained for nearly two-and-a-half months at BKSP but did not get to play any practice matches.
The team played a 30-minute practice match against Korea on Sunday, going down 2-1.
“The practice match was important because we needed to get introduced to the new turf under floodlights and the players now know how the turf will behave. I think the team is in good shape and ready to fight,” said Shuvo.