Bumrah’s Magical 2024 Redefines Fast Bowling

Specific years in cricketing history become iconic, forever linked to players and their extraordinary performances. Think Sachin Tendulkar in 1998, Ricky Ponting in 2003, or Virat Kohli in 2016. If one player had to define 2024, it would undoubtedly be Jasprit Bumrah. After spending nearly a year sidelined from mid-2022 to 2023, the Indian pace maestro returned with a singular focus: to make up for lost time and reaffirm his dominance in world cricket. Let’s revisit Bumrah’s remarkable 2024, as told through the numbers billy777.

Bumrah in 2024

Across formats

For every series or tournament

Jasprit Bumrah capped off a stellar 2024 by finishing as the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, claiming an impressive 71 wickets—19 more than the next best. His crowning achievement came during India’s T20 World Cup triumph, where he was named Player of the Tournament for his 15 wickets at an incredible strike rate of 11.8 and a miserly economy rate of 4.17.

While Bumrah did not play a 50-over match in 2024, his dominance across formats remains undeniable. Since his return in August 2023, following a year-long hiatus due to a stress fracture, no bowler from a Full Member nation has outperformed him in both Tests and T20s regarding wickets taken and average. In ODIs, only Mohammed Shami’s extraordinary showing in the 2023 World Cup (24 wickets at an average of 10.70) narrowly edges out Bumrah’s numbers.

Jasprit Bumrah’s Record Across Formats Since August 2023:

In 2024, Jasprit Bumrah claimed 71 wickets in Tests, making it the joint 16th-highest tally by a bowler in a calendar year. Remarkably, no bowler who has taken more wickets than Bumrah in a calendar year has achieved a better average or strike rate. Among the 107 instances of bowlers taking 50+ wickets in a year, only Imran Khan (62 wickets at 13.29 in 1982) and Sydney Barnes (61 wickets at 14.14 in 1912) have surpassed Bumrah’s exceptional average of 14.92 in 2024. Regarding strike rate, Bumrah’s 30.1 balls per wicket is bettered only by Waqar Younis (55 wickets at 29.5 balls apiece in 1993).

4 – The number of times Indian bowlers have taken more Test wickets in a year than Bumrah’s 2024 tally. Kapil Dev holds the record with 75 wickets in 1983 and shares the second spot with 74 wickets in 1979, tied with Anil Kumble’s 74 in 2004. Before Bumrah’s feat in 2024, the last Indian bowler to take 70+ wickets in a calendar year was R. Ashwin, with 72 wickets in 2016.

2.26 – Bumrah’s average compared to other Indian fast bowlers in 2024. While Bumrah collected 71 wickets at an average of 14.92, the rest of India’s pace attack managed 63 wickets at an average of 33.67. This gives Bumrah a ratio of 2.26, the fourth-best for a fast bowler in a calendar year with 40+ wickets.

Bumrah has proven to be highly effective throughout all phases of Test cricket, maintaining an average of under 20 and a strike rate below 40 in each of the three stages of an innings. Although he faced some challenges with the new ball at home, averaging 32.10 in the first 30 overs, he compensated with impressive reverse swing using the older ball, averaging 12.23 between overs 31 and 80 across eight home Tests. He was exceptional across all phases in Australia and South Africa, regardless of the ball’s age.

Among the 32 bowlers taking 30+ wickets between overs 31 and 80 in a calendar year, Bumrah’s impressive average of 12.93 and strike rate of 24.6 are at the top (where ball-by-ball details are available).

In 2024, Bumrah dominated red-ball cricket, taking wickets against some of the best batters in the world. In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Travis Head is the only player to average under 20 against him, with an average of 20.75 from four dismissals. 

Bumrah has dismissed Usman Khawaja five times at an average of 6.40, Steven Smith three times at an average of 13.66, and Marnus Labuschagne twice at 17.50. At home, Bumrah outclassed Joe Root, the top run-scorer of 2024, removing him three times in just 79 balls. 

Additionally, Mushfiqur Rahim, the leading run-scorer in Bangladesh’s series win in Pakistan, only managed to survive 19 balls from Bumrah across three innings before being dismissed three times.

The 200-Wicket Milestone

Jasprit Bumrah achieved the remarkable feat of 200 wickets during the second innings of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG when he dismissed Travis Head for the second time. This milestone saw Bumrah becoming the fourth-fastest bowler in balls bowled (8484) and the joint second-fastest in matches played (44) among Indian cricketers.

Of the 85 bowlers who reached 200+ wickets in Test cricket, Bumrah is the only one to maintain an average under 20. His strike rate of 42.4 is only surpassed by Kagiso Rabada, which boasts a strike rate of 39.4.

Best bowling averages for players with 200+ wickets in Test cricket

The T20 Cricket Doyen

• 8.26 – Bumrah’s average in the T20 World Cup 2024. Out of the 73 instances of a bowler taking 10 or more wickets in a single edition of the competition’s history, no one matches Bumrah’s remarkable average of 8.26. His economy rate 4.17 also sets him apart as the only bowler with an economy rate under five in one tournament edition.
• 6.48 – Bumrah’s economy rate in IPL 2024. He finished as the third leading wicket-taker with 20 wickets. In a tournament where pacers gave away 9.78 runs per over, the highest in any T20 tournament with at least 20 matches, Bumrah’s economy rate stood out. His ratio of the tournament’s economy rate to his own was 1.51, the third-best in T20 competition history.

Bumrah’s economy rate in death overs (16-20) across all T20s in 2024 stands at 5.61. Among players who have bowled at least 150 balls in this phase during a calendar year, only Sunil Narine (5.52) in 2022 has recorded a better economy rate. In the IPL, 

Bumrah gave away 6.47 runs per over in the death overs, significantly lower than the tournament average of 11.03.

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His death-over economy rate for the T20 World Cup was even better at 4.37, compared to the tournament’s average of 7.98. Among fast bowlers, Lasith Malinga’s economy rate of 6.41 per over in 2011 is best where ball-by-ball data is available.

Author: Murad Mehar

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