Adelaide, Dec 6: India's Jasprit Bumrah celebrated his 31st birthday in style, becoming the first pacer to notch 50 Test wickets in 2024. The milestone was achieved during the first day of the pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide on Friday when Bumrah dismissed opener Usman Khawaja.

With this feat, Bumrah joins the elite company of Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan as the only Indian pacers to take 50 Test wickets in a calendar year. Bumrah reached the landmark in his 11th Test of 2024. Kapil Dev remains the highest wicket-taker for Indian pacers in a year, with 75 Test wickets in 1983, followed by his 74 in 1979. Zaheer Khan stands third with 51 scalps in 2002.

Bumrah's achievement comes on the heels of a stellar year across formats. He now leads the all-format wickets chart for 2024, with 65 dismissals in 19 matches. His contributions have been pivotal, not only in Tests but also in limited-overs cricket, where he played a crucial role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in June, bagging 15 wickets in eight matches to finish third on the tournament’s wicket-takers list.

Bowling with the pink ball under lights, he delivered a steep bouncer on a good length outside the off-stump. Khawaja, unable to resist, poked at the ball, only to edge it to Rohit Sharma at first slip.

Earlier, Bumrah led India to victory in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth, where his 8/72 were the best figures by a visiting fast-bowling captain in Test history.

Bumrah’s 50 Test wickets place him among the leading bowlers of the year, although he has some way to go to match Shane Warne’s record of 96 wickets in a calendar year, achieved in 2005.

--IANS

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