England opener Ben Duckett took his hat off for India’s gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah after the second day’s play in the opening Test at Leeds, Headingley on Saturday. Duckett admitted it is really tough to face Bumrah as the pacer is lethal in all kinds of conditions.
Bumrah accounted for Duckett as the left-hander’s attempt to play a drive, ended in his stumps. Duckett also had the rub of the green on his side as India ace fielder Ravindra Jadeja dropped a simple catch when he was on 15, on Bumrah’s bowling.
Yashasvi Jaiswal also dropped a difficult catch to give Duckett a reprieve. Meanwhile, Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers on the second day’s play as he returned with figures of 3-48 in 13 overs he bowled.
Ben Duckett said in the post-day press conference, “He’s the best bowler in the world. He’s extremely hard to face. He’s good in any conditions, and when he’s coming in down the hill with the lights on and it’s swinging both ways, it’s tough. Just his ability to bowl three or four different balls with no cue – you don’t know if he’s bowling a bouncer, or a slow ball, a yorker, an away-swinger or an inswinger until it comes out of his hand. You’ve got to watch the ball so hard with him.”
Meanwhile, Duckett also showered praise on Ollie Pope, who scored an unbeaten knock of 100 runs on the second day. Duckett admitted Pope had his work cut out as Bumrah was bowling at his best after dismissing Zak Crawley with the new ball.
Duckett added, “He was just so calm coming out. He probably couldn’t come out in tougher conditions, with Jasprit Bumrah running down the hill with the lights on. I don’t know what’s inside his head, but he’s just stayed true to the way he plays, and there’s no better feeling than that, scoring a hundred against that attack, coming out in the first over. You could see it in the way he celebrated, and it didn’t just mean a lot to him, it meant a huge amount in the dressing room as well. I had goosebumps for him.”
England are currently 300-5 and they trail by 171 runs.
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