New Delhi:
Jasprit Bumrah created history on Saturday when he became the third Indian bowler after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan to take a hat-trick in Tests. Habrhajan had become the first Indian when he achieved the feat against Australia in Eden Gardens in 2001 while Irfan took the hat-trick in the first over of the Karachi Test against Pakistan in 2006. However, Bumrah almost did not get the hat-trick in Jamaica and it needed Virat Kohli's help to achieve the feat.
After getting rid of Darren Bravo and Shamarh Brooks, Bumrah rapped the pads of Roston Chase with a sharp inswinger and India appealed for an LBW. However, the umpire did not give it out and Virat Kohli took a review. Replays showed the ball was hitting leg stump and Bumrah had gotten the hat-trick.
Speaking about Bumrah's feat, Harbhajan Singh, who took the first hat-trick has said Bumrah will be indebted to Kohli in the same way like he was to Sadagoppan Ramesh during the Kolkata Test. Harbhajan trapped Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist LBW and he got the hat-trick when Shane Warne flicked a quicker ball to short leg and Ramesh took the catch.
"This hat-trick belongs to Virat as much as it belongs to Bumrah. The bowler wasn't convinced but the skipper had a gut feeling. What if Virat wouldn't have gone for that DRS? It was a brilliant call by the skipper which complemented his magnificent effort," Harbhajan said.
The offspinner, who has taken over 400 wickets in Tests, opened up about the hat-trick.
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"I remember that I discussed with Dada (Sourav Ganguly) and we decided to keep it on stumps and try for a third leg before but Warne flicked it. Now to be honest, Ramesh wasn't the most athletic of the guys in that team. Yet at forward short-leg, he pulled off that stunner with a less than split second reaction time. Whenever I have later met Ramesh, I told him, 'buddy my hat-trick belongs to you'. That's why I believe that some things happen that come together and such a beautiful thing happens. It was Ramesh's brilliance then and it's Virat's conviction now. I have never seen Rahul so excited, jumping with joy. Perhaps, he also didn't believe Ramesh can pull off such a catch," Harbhajan said.
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Harbhajan, who has not played a Test for India since 2013, has said Bumrah's exploits make him a blessing for the Indian cricket team.
"Indian cricket is blessed to have a match winner like Bumrah. This hat-trick will only help his legend grow but even without that he is an incredible performer. I mean 5 wickets in 7 overs in last game and 6 wickets in 9 overs in this game. You can't ask for more. He is a rare diamond. Look at Bumrah's deliveries. The length and how it was tailing in. That's pure skills," Harbhajan said.
