Jasprit Bumrah, the rare beast of international cricket

India’s Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka during the Asia Cup Super 4 match in Colombo recently. Pic/AFP

Two contrasting hues of Jasprit Bumrah were on view at the R Premadasa Stadium over the last two nights.

On Monday, armed with a mountain of runs, 356 to be exact, the exceptional quick was all smiles as he made the ball whoop around corners, putting Pakistan's top order through the wringer.

Grumpy and animated

A little over 24 hours later, a side of Bumrah rarely seen-grumpy and animated-made its appearance against Sri Lanka. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that India had only 213 on the board, perhaps the competitor in him didn't take too kindly at being creamed through the covers in the first over by Patham Nissanka. A dark cloud flitted across his visage as the ball burst through the fielder's hands and hared away to the fence. Sri Lanka were in for a torrid examination.

On Monday and Tuesday nights combined, Bumrah bowled 12 overs for returns of three for 48. Not extraordinary, but as is normally the case, while these returns aren't to be scoffed at, they only tell half the story. It was hard to imagine that the 29-year-old was playing his first One-Day International since July last year. It was harder still to believe that just a few months back, he underwent back surgery in New Zealand.

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Whatever tweaks Bumrah might have made to his run-up and/or action are too minute to be obvious at first glance, but what hasn't changed is his intensity, his pace or the way he attacks the crease. With the new ball in both matches, he procured appreciable movement, both in the air and off the deck. The yorker, used sparingly, homed in on the batsmen's toes as if radar-directed and when he came back for a second spell on Tuesday with Sri Lanka threatening an improbable victory, he produced an off-cutter that leapt off a length and pinged the well-set Dhananjaya de Silva flush on his glove.

The wicket of Imam ul Haq against Pakistan was celebrated with a characteristic grin as if wondering what the fuss was all about. There was greater animation at getting rid of both Nissanka and the pesky Kusal Mendis on Tuesday. Bumrah was not holding back; secure in the knowledge that he is pain-free and that he has done everything required of him to ensure his rehab ran its normal course. He looked every bit the potent force he has been for nearly seven years in international cricket, a massive plus for Rohit Sharma with India's World Cup opener just 25 days away.

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Moment of concern

There was a moment of concern early in the Lankan innings when, in his followthrough, Bumrah rolled his right ankle over. Collective gasps reverberated around a well-attended stadium, but after a cursory inspection, Bumrah brushed himself off and kept coming. Hard. A significant box decisively ticked.