IND vs NZ: How Bengaluru Test loss has hampered India’s Jasprit Bumrah plan

India were handed a rare home Test defeat by New Zealand as they were battered by eight wickets in the first Test of the three-match series at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The match began with a deplorable display from Indian batting line up who were bundled out for their lowest total in home Tests of just 46 runs.
The hosts did show a gritty fight in the second innings as Sarfaraz Khan (150) and Rishabh Pant (99) guided them to a score of 462 along with half centuries from Virat Kohli (70) and Rohit Sharma (52) but it didn’t prove to be enough to stop the Blackcaps from emerging victorious. As a result, India found themselves on the wrong side of the result and now have their back against the wall.
The Rohit Sharma-led side find themselves on the verge of losing a home Test series after over 11 years. Apart from the defeat, India’s position has been further exacerbated by the condition of few players. The biggest worrying factor for the hosts heading into the second Test is the workload of their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
The speedster has bowled the second-most number of overs (76) in the ongoing home season so far. Bumrah finished as the joint-highest wicket taker of the recent series against Bangladesh with 11 wickets from four innings at an average of 12.81. In the season so far, he’s scalped 14 wickets at an average of 15.07 and an economy of 2.77.
Along with that, Bumrah has also been the busiest fast bowler in the world ever since his comeback to the Test team in December 2023. The speedster has bowled 228.2 overs from nine matches and scalped 45 wickets at an average of 15.26.
He looked the most potent Indian bowler in the second innings in Bengaluru picking both wickets to fall for New Zealand and kept hopes of a miraculous victory alive. However, having given three back-to-back matches to Bumrah, India need to tread lightly with the pace spearhead given his history with injuries when exposed to a massive workload.
Hence, the team management must plan to give him the much-needed rest ahead of the all-important five-match Test series against Australia. The loss in the first Test has pushed India in a dilemma where they might be having second thoughts about resting Bumrah with the threat of a series defeat looming large.
Along with it, a below-par show from Mohammad Siraj has further increased India’s dependency on their senior most fast bowler in the squad. In the three matches so far in the ongoing season, Siraj has picked just six wickets at an average of 39.66 and an economy of 3.59. In Bengaluru, he registered match figures of 2/100 at an economy of four.
Siraj’s numbers has been in stark contrast with youngster Akash Deep who fared well in the Bangladesh series. The right-arm speedster picked five wickets from two matches at an average of 20.40 and an economy of 3. Given his current form, Akash is likely to be drafted back into the playing XI in the second Test in Pune but Siraj’s recent form has raised questions on his ability to lead the pace attack in Bumrah’s absence.
Hence, the team management will have a massive task in finalizing their playing combination in the second Test. Moreover, the belated recovery of veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami has left India without many options. Whatever the management decides, they will have to make a decision keeping in mind the importance of the ongoing series and the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) against Australia.