India have no complaints about Bengaluru pitch - Bumrah

Tuesday, 15 March 2022 03:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BENGALURU (Reuters): India have no issues with the Bengaluru pitch even though 30 wickets have fallen in two days as scoring good runs on tough, challenging pitches will only help improve the confidence of batsmen, Indian vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah said on Sunday.

The fourth innings of a test match rarely begins on day two but India set Sri Lanka a mammoth target of 447 to win as they turned the screws on the tourists in their bid to sweep the series 2-0.

Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant managed to score half centuries but many Indian batsmen were undone by the sharp turn and variable bounce. “You always play in different conditions. If there is some help for the bowlers it gives you a lot of confidence. You won’t get flat wickets everywhere, you always look for a challenge,” Bumrah told reporters.

“The batsmen are no different. Nobody is complaining about the wicket, they know if they score good runs on a tough wicket that will give them confidence, which will hold them in good stead on flat wickets.” Bumrah has picked up over 100 test wickets but Sunday marked the first time he had taken five in an innings on home soil as the fast bowler finished with figures of 5-24 on a pitch that heavily favoured spinners. “You always want to play all games but you miss out on home tests when playing all three formats,” Bumrah said. “It’s always a great feeling when you can contribute to the team’s success.” Bumrah, who also struck in the first over of the fourth innings, added that they had to adapt their game plan for the day-night test as the lack of moisture gave the quicks barely any assistance.

“There isn’t a lot of help for fast bowlers in the afternoon. But once the temperature goes down the ball starts swinging. We analysed that and tried to use it to our advantage,” Bumrah said.