Former England fast bowler Steve Finn heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah after the gun pacer bagged a five-wicket haul against England in the first innings of the opening Test at Leeds, Headingley on Sunday. Bumrah returned with figures of 5-83 as he bowled at his absolute best.

On the third day’s play, Bumrah didn’t have the rub of the green on his side as Harry Brook was dropped by Yashasvi Jaiswal in gully when the batter was on 83.

The ace pacer then accounted for Chris Woakes, who was scoring at a rapid pace. The gun fast bowler also dismissed Josh Tongue and played a key role in skittling out England at 465.

This was Bumrah’s 14th five-wicket haul and his 12th in overseas conditions. 

Steve Finn wrote in column for BBC, “He is like a computer constantly calibrating what is needed in any given situation, and he is able to implement almost exactly what he wants to with absolute precision. A batter could watch as many hours of Bumrah footage as they like, yet still be surprised when they face him. There is no ‘tell’ as to what he going to bowl. No change of arm path, no change of finger position. A batter can only rely on reacting to what is coming their way.”

The former lanky pacer added Bumrah would have been India’s first-choice captain in Test cricket if not for his workload management issues.

“Bumrah is a thinker about the game and would have been India’s first choice as the new Test captain has it not been for his struggle to play in every match. He took the decision himself to not pursue the job as he did not feel it was fair on the team. We’re lucky to be in an era of great fast bowlers. From recent international retirees Stuart Broad and James Anderson, to Kagiso Rabada, Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Bumrah sits atop of them all as the finest fast bowler to have played the game. Some accolade.”

India ended the third day’s play at 90-2, leading by 96 runs.