They messed it up on Day 4: Wasim Jaffer believes Bumrah employed wrong strategy against Jonny Bairstow

Former India batter Wasim Jaffer is of the opinion that Jasprit Bumrah did not get his tactics right against England batters on Day 4 of the fifth Test match against England. Chasing a record target of 378 runs at Edgbaston, England made merry with their intent filled cricket and raced to 259/3 at the end of day. Former captain Joe Root and in-form batter Jonny Bairstow scored at a healthy rate, without giving many chances to the India bowlers.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer said that Bumrah needed to take more chances against Bairstow, who loves to attack in Test cricket.

“He (Bairstow) doesn’t mind hitting over the top when fielders are brought in and takes singles on almost every ball when the field is spread out. There was only one catching option in slip and strike was easily rotated without any pressure,” Jaffer said.

“So I think Jasprit Bumrah missed a trick there because he could have challenged them later on by bringing the fielders in. If India don’t get 2-3 early wickets on Day 5, it will be really difficult for them,” he further added.

The Test match was thoroughly dominated by India barring the early debacle in rain-interrupted Day one and then during England’s first innings – at the time Jonny Bairstow was batting. After staying ahead for three straight days, England made a comeback on Day four with Ben Stokes leading from the front.

“After all the good work that India did for the first three days, they messed it up a bit on Day 4. I think England won all three sessions. There was a lot of time left to play, so I think they could have scored 50 runs more,” he said.

“A target of more than 400 could have given India a psychological edge. Expected a bit more from Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and also others,” Jaffer concluded.