Jasprit Bumrah did Jasprit Bumrah things at Edgbaston: being the point of difference. It was for Bumrah just another day at the job, which normally is a good day. But Tuesday was an important day even for the best fast bowler of our times.
Bumrah had not played the 50-overs format since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia at his home ground in Ahmedabad. In that period, India played 26 ODIs. With two T20 World Cups in the last three years, Bumrah was preserved for the shortest format, rightly. A decision that played a major hand in India becoming the first team to defend successive T20 world titles.
So having not bowled in the 50-overs format since November 19, 2023, how would Bumrah fare today? That was a question even India captain Shubman Gill agreed on Monday the team was keenly waiting to see answered. Usually watching Bumrah in any format, virtually every ball he delivers is by itself compelling.
One reason Bumrah is so exciting is he doesn't really hide what he is going to do. Forget the batters and the opposition, even you, if you have watched him closely for several years, know his routines. With moisture abundant in the Edgbaston pitch, Bumrah got stuck into Ben Duckett straight away. Duckett, who has also faced Bumrah in Test cricket, was aware of the drill: outswingers pitched on the hard length and then suddenly that darting inswinger, delivered from the same angle to leave the batter gasping.
The inswinger here came on the fifth ball. Bowling from over the stumps Bumrah launched a full, swinging delivery that hit Duckett's back heel and left the England opener off balance. Bumrah appealed with gusto, but he knew the ball had pitched outside the leg stump.
Stuart Broad, an astute observer, well-versed with his one-time opponent, pointed out on air Bumrah's inswinger comes in far more quickly than the away-going delivery. Those are the subtleties with which Bumrah makes batters sweat while pushing us on the outside to edge of our seats.
Just like that, Bumrah had slipped back into peak bowling mode with that teasing grin, having left the batter looking hapless. In his second over he pinged Duckett's index finger on his left hand with the delivery that Bumrah usually uses regularly in Test cricket: banging a length and the ball kicking off. (You can read more on the science behind it here). Duckett, a tough competitor, could not stop wincing and received treatment twice.
Bumrah bowled four overs in the first spell but the pressure he created pushed Duckett and Jacob Bethell into a shell which they tried to break out of immediately afterwards. Despite a 61-run stand, they made fatal unforced errors in succession, allowing rookie Gurnoor Brar to roar in delight.
The magic hand of Bumrah then created his first wicket (also his 150th in ODIs) - that of the in-form Harry Brook. A ball clocked at 79 mph/127kph is not all that fast in theory. Brook has hammered 90-plus mph deliveries from the fastest bowler to all corners of the cricket field with awe-inspiring batting. But Bumrah can do wonders even at such moderate speeds: pitching on a hard length and with the backspin he is able to generate due to the snap in his right wrist, he forced the ball to lift and surprise Brook, who nicked an easy catch to first slip. Brook's dazed expression told the story.
Hours later, at the post-match media briefing, asked to explain what had happened, Brook simply said it was a good ball and he nicked. Bumrah knows how to bruise the spirits of the best.
That was the only wicket Bumrah took in the nine overs he bowled, but it was the impact he created across three spells that created enough grief for England. Remember this was also the first match Bumrah was playing for nearly two months, having last played in the IPL in Mumbai Indians' last league match on May 20. By the unique standards he has created for himself, the 2026 IPL was the weakest for Bumrah, as he took just four wickets. He failed to catch any rhythm, and it was intriguing to watch him. Bumrah suddenly became human.
The break did help Bumrah as he returned fresh having lost none of his genius. Twenty-nine out of his 54 deliveries at Edgbaston were on the 6-8 metres length - that is over 53%, which is high even by Bumrah's standards. It is a length where batters find it hard to score and the pressure created can cause mistakes.
How can Bumrah just turn up and produce magic? You can argue that Bumrah was not completely off cricket for a long time. This is true, but he hasn't been playing ODIs, where the rhythm and planning and the demands of the job are different.
Bumrah showed here that he still knows how to go about his job in the format. And the question remains relevant: how can he keep doing what batters expect him to do, and still leave us all gaping in awe?