Acting captain Jasprit Bumrah's 8-wicket match haul at the Optus Stadium in Perth — combined with his aggressive, astute captaincy — produced one of India's most dominant Test victories on Australian soil, widely hailed as among the finest individual fast bowling performances in Test history.
When Jasprit Bumrah walked out to lead India for the first Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy — Rohit Sharma absent for the birth of his second child — few anticipated that the match would be remembered as one of Test cricket's defining performances by a fast bowler.
Perth's Optus Stadium, fast and bouncy, is one of the best fast bowling surfaces in the world. Bumrah exploited it to devastating effect. In the first innings, he took 5 wickets, repeatedly finding edges off deliveries that moved late at pace through the corridor of uncertainty outside off stump. His control was extraordinary — barely a loose delivery in a sustained spell that dismantled Australia's top order.
India posted a massive total. Australia chased something near 534. Bumrah returned with 3 more wickets as Australia folded in the second innings. Total match figures: 8 wickets at less than 15 runs apiece.
His captaincy was equally impressive. He managed bowling changes with tactical intelligence well beyond what was expected of a stand-in. He rotated bowlers cleverly, set attacking fields when he smelled wickets, and protected his own body through careful management of his overs.
India won by 295 runs — one of their largest victories in Australia. The margin, combined with the quality of Bumrah's bowling and his improvisational captaincy, produced unanimous agreement that this was a landmark Indian performance overseas.
The cricket press — Indian and Australian — treated it as a moment that placed Bumrah definitively among the all-time great Test fast bowlers.
Bumrah named stand-in captain — Rohit on paternity leave
First innings: Bumrah takes 5 wickets — Australia restricted to a modest total
India post a massive total — exploit Australia's bowling struggles
Second innings: Bumrah takes 3 more as Australia crumble chasing 534
India win by 295 runs — one of their largest victories in Australia
“I just try to hit the right areas and trust the process. These wickets can be very helpful for fast bowling if you're willing to put in the effort. The team's belief was outstanding.”
“That might be the best I've ever seen a fast bowler bowl in Australia from a visiting team. He made Steve Smith look ordinary, which nobody does. Extraordinary.”
India won by 295 runs. Bumrah: Player of the Match. 8 wickets at 14.75. Also led India to their largest away Test victory in Australia.
The Perth 2024 performance placed Bumrah in a category of Test match performers that very few fast bowlers have entered — those who can single-handedly change the direction of a Test series on foreign soil. It was the high point of Bumrah's career.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
The first tied Test in 86 years of cricket history — Australia and West Indies finished level on 737 runs each after five days of breathless cricket in Brisbane, producing one of the most dramatic finishes the game has ever seen.
India vs Australia
1986-09-22
Twenty-six years after Brisbane, cricket produced only its second tied Test — Dean Jones's heroic 210 through crippling heat and Dean Jones's fever, Ravi Shastri's unbeaten 48 and India needing 2 off the last over, only for Maninder Singh to be out lbw off the final ball.
Australia vs South Africa
1999-06-17
Lance Klusener smashed Australia to the brink of elimination, then ran out Allan Donald off the penultimate ball to tie the match — but Australia advanced to the final on superior run rate, ending South Africa's greatest World Cup campaign in devastating fashion.