ENG vs IND | 'Jimmy brushed him aside': R Sridhar reveals how Bumrah-Anderson incident charged Team India
Team India registered a memorable victory in the Lord's Test against England earlier this week, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The match saw spirited displays from Indian bowlers -- particularly on the final day, where Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah not only contributed to the Indian win with the ball, but also forged an unbeaten 91-run partnership which eventually made the difference in the game.
Tempers also flared during the game when Bumrah's short-pitched deliveries angered James Anderson during England's first innings. In a video, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and fielding coach R Sridhar talked about the conversation between Bumrah and Anderson.
Sridhar revealed that Anderson was angry because Bumrah was bowling at him with a relatively quicker speed than the others.
"Hey mate! Why are you bowling so fast? Am I doing the same to you? All this while you were bowling in the 80mphs and suddenly on seeing me why are you bowling in the 90mphs?" Anderson told Bumrah, according to Sridhar.
Ashwin said that it was surprising that Anderson felt that.
"That kind of statement coming from Jimmy Anderson was a surprise to me," said Ashwin.
Sridhar further revealed that after the end of the innings, Bumrah tried to ease the tensions with Anderson but the England cricketer hit back at him.
“So after the innings, the boys were walking back to the dressing room. Then, Bumrah walked past Jimmy and just patted at him, so as to tell him that it wasn’t intentional. We all know Bumrah, he is such a nice guy. So he had gone to talk to him and end the matter, but Jimmy brushed him aside," Sridhar said.
“Brushing him aside, he told him, “You bowl only 85MPH to the other batters, you are bowling 90 MPH to me. This is cheating, I won’t accept.
"That got the team together. Not that the team wasn't together before. It sparked/ignited a fire in everyone. The effect of that was visible on day 5," said Sridhar.
