IND beat SA 1st Test: Shami-Bumrah-Siraj best of 2021: Gabba, Oval, Lord’s and Centurion – behind all four famous victories of Team India, it was not the batsmen but the pace attack that delivered the victories. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj — India’s pace trio was brilliant throughout 2021, and with 70 wickets in the calendar year, they proved how lethal they were. Follow IND vs SA Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
While batsmen ably backed the bowlers in all four of the famous wins, the Centurion win once again proved why they are the No 1 pace attack. From 130/4 with South Africa needing 175 runs to win, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj hunted in packs like they did in Oval and Lord’s. In the end, India cruised to a 113-run win in Centurion.
IND beat SA 1st Test: Supershow at Centurion proves why Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj are best pace attack of 2021
With 8 wins in 14 Test matches in 2021, Virat Kohli led Team India are currently the best Test team as per ICC Rankings. While traditionally India’s batting has been seen as their USP, it is their bowling that has earned them those wins. In fact, with 91 Test wickets from in overseas conditions, the pacers have proved India are not just a home track bully, ahead of even Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa at the moment.
Superb bowling by an attack that can pick 20 wickets in a Test match anywhere in the world.
Congratulations to #TeamIndia on a convincing victory!#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/2TGI41kH7B— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 30, 2021
India’s pacers were top-notch in 2021. While Pakistan may take the honours of bagging most wickets overseas, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali & Co bagged those wickets against Bangladesh, West Indies and Zimbabwe. But for Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, the wickets came against the likes of Australia, England and South Africa — powerhouses of Test cricket.
IND beat SA 1st Test: Supershow at Centurion proves why Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj are best pace attack of 2021
“Just the way these guys bowl together, it’s just a hallmark of our team getting a result from that position, not just in this game but also in the last two-three years,” Virat Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony after Centurion win.
In overseas conditions, Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s best pacer of 2021, bagging 26 wickets in 6 matches. Mohammed Siraj is a close second with 25 scalps in 7 games. Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur have taken 16 wickets in 4 matches. The pace quartet has shared 86 wickets amongst them in Australia, England and South Africa, taking the honours of being the best pace-attack at the moment.
IND beat SA 1st Test: Supershow at Centurion proves why Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj are best pace attack of 2021
Amongst the spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have bagged 14 wickets combined while Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan have also contributed to Team India’s victory in Australia.
IND vs SA Live: Indian pacers in overseas conditions in 2021:
Mohammed Siraj – 25 wickets in 7 matches: Since making his Test debut in Boxing Day Test in 2020 against Australia, Mohammed Siraj has been excellent. He has been Virat Kohli’s go-to man to break partnerships. In 7 matches, he has scalped 25 wickets at an average of 33.16 with his best coming against Australia in Brisbane, leading India to a famous win.
IND beat SA 1st Test: Supershow at Centurion proves why Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj are best pace attack of 2021
Jasprit Bumrah – 26 wickets in 6 matches: The spearhead of India’s pace attack, Jasprit Bumrah is India’s leader of the pace-pack. His angular deliveries have troubled all batsmen and his accuracy has yielded wickets in all conditions. The specialist overseas bowler for India, he has scalped 26 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 23.68 with his best coming against England in Nottingham when he bagged 5/64.
IND beat SA 1st Test: Supershow at Centurion proves why Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj are best pace attack of 2021
Mohammed Shami – 19 wickets in 4 matches: Mohammed Shami time and again proved why he is an important bowler in every format. He seems to have aced his injuries and has been an important cog in India’s pace department. With 19 wickets in 2021 apart from a five-wicket haul against South Africa in the first Test, he has proved why he is so important to India’s bowling.
The #TeamIndia bowlers who are making us #BelieveInBlue! 😍
How many 💙💙 for their 🔥 show in the 1st Test of #FreedomSeries #SAvIND?#FirstKaThirst pic.twitter.com/HuTpqIxfPX
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 28, 2021
Shardul Thakur – 16 wickets in 4 matches: Shardul Thakur is the other important member of the pace attack with equal contribution to batting. In 4 matches, he has bagged 16 wickets and has proven to be a partnership-breaker for Virat Kohli. He has also played the role of a fourth seamer really well in overseas conditions.
IND beat SA 1st Test: Supershow at Centurion proves why Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj are best pace attack of 2021
| Player | Mat | Inns | Overs | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Avg | 5W |
| Bumrah | 6 | 11 | 224.0 | 575 | 26 | 5/64 | 9/110 | 22.11 | 1 |
| Shami | 4 | 7 | 129.5 | 410 | 19 | 5/44 | 8/107 | 21.57 | 1 |
| Siraj | 7 | 13 | 257.5 | 829 | 25 | 5/73 | 8/126 | 33.16 | 1 |
| Shardul | 4 | 8 | 108.0 | 371 | 16 | 4/61 | 7/155 | 23.18 | 0 |
| Ishant | 2 | 3 | 56.0 | 174 | 5 | 3/69 | 5/82 | 34.80 | 0 |
| Jadeja | 5 | 8 | 141.0 | 334 | 10 | 4/62 | 4/62 | 33.40 | 0 |
| Ashwin | 2 | 4 | 71.0 | 224 | 4 | 2/18 | 2/55 | 56.00 | 0 |
IND beat SA 1st Test: Supershow at Centurion proves why Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj are best pace attack of 2021
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