"You know it's something special" - Former India cricketer reacts to Jasprit Bumrah getting fired up on Day 1 of BGT 2024-25 5th Test

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has acknowledged his surprise at Jasprit Bumrah getting all fired up in the dying moments of Day 1 of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test against Australia in Sydney. Manjrekar reckons something was definitely special if the right-arm speedster reacted the way he did.

The incident occurred when Usman Khawaja stopped the No. 1 Test bowler, who was at the top of his mark, wanting to complete the over quickly. With the stand-in Indian captain talking to the umpire, Sam Konstas, at the non-striker's end, had a heated chat with the pacer. After the 31-year-old extracted Khawaja on the final ball of the day, he turned up to Konstas as did 10 other Indian players, sparking wild celebrations.

Speaking after the day's play, the former batter was impressed to see players maintain the same intensity after a long series. He stated, as quoted by India Today:

"Yeah, they're all fired up, and it's great to see, right at the end of a long series, this kind of emotion. I mean, Bumrah has been phenomenal, and 'great' doesn't seem to be enough to describe his performance as a bowler.

"Sam Konstas—there's something about him that gets under the skin of the Indian players. You saw Virat Kohli in the background as well, really fired up. If Bumrah is like this, you know it's something special."

The Ahmedabad-born cricketer will especially have Konstas in his sights on Day 2 in Sydney as India hope to regain control. The 19-year-old dominated the visiting bowler in the first innings in Melbourne, but the star bowler cleaned him up cheaply in the second.

Jasprit Bumrah also added 22 vital runs in the first innings

Jasprit Bumrah batting (Image Credits: Getty)

While the 31-year-old will arguably end up as the leading wicket-taker of the series, accumulating 31 wickets so far, he also proved his utility with the bat on Day 1 in Sydney. The right-hander struck three boundaries and a six in his 17-ball 22 before his opposite number Pat Cummins dismissed him.

The coin toss fell in favor of the visitors as they opted to bat first but managed only 185 on the board. Scott Boland proved to be the pick of the bowlers for Australia, bagging four scalps.