Jasprit Bumrah sets world record at MCG; ends 2024 with 71 Test wickets

India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ended the year 2024 in Test cricket by setting a world record. His final wicket of the year was Australia’s Nathan Lyon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Monday (December 30).

Bumrah has been outstanding with the ball in all formats of the game. However, this year, in Tests, it was a record-setting one for the right-arm fast bowler.

Also read: India lose Boxing Day Test to Australia

With 71 wickets from 13 Tests (26 innings) in 2024, he finished on top of the bowling charts for this calendar year. For these incredible numbers, he has been nominated for the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2024. England's Joe Root and Harry Brook, and Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis are the other three on the shortlist for the honour.

The 31-year-old has now become the first bowler in Test history to take 70-plus wickets in a year with an average of under 15. The previous best was Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan’s 16.9 average for his 90 scalps in 11 matches in 2006.

Also read: Bumrah completes 200 Test wickets

Bumrah’s bowling average for 2024 was 14.92. He had five five-wicket hauls and boasts of a strike rate of 30.1. His best bowling in an innings this year was 6/45 and best match haul was 9/91.

In the 13 Tests Bumrah played this year, only in one match, he went wicketless, against New Zealand in Pune in October. The three-match series at home against the Kiwis was a forgettable one for India as they were whitewashed 0-3.

In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Bumrah has taken 30 wickets at an average of 12.83. During the Boxing Day Test, which India lost to Australia on Monday , he completed 200 Test wickets.

Looking back at the stats for Indian Test bowlers with the most wickets in a calendar year, Bumrah’s tally of 71 is the fifth on the list. Kapil Dev leads the pack with 75 in 18 matches in 1983. The overall record belongs to Shane Warne, who took 96 Test wickets in 15 matches in 2005.

Jasprit Bumrah's match-wise Test wickets in 2024

Total: 71 wickets in 13 Tests. Overs: 357, Maidens: 85, Runs: 1060, Average: 14.92, Economy: 2.96, Strike Rate: 30.1, Five-wicket hauls: 5, Best bowling in an innings: 6/95, Best bowling in a match: 9/91

January

8 wickets vs South Africa, Cape Town

6 wickets vs England, Hyderabad

February

9 wickets vs England, Visakhapatnam

2 wickets vs England, Rajkot

March

2 wickets vs England, Dharamsala

September

5 wickets vs Bangladesh, Chennai

6 wickets vs Bangladesh, Kanpur

October

3 wickets vs New Zealand, Bengaluru

0 wickets vs New Zealand, Pune

November

8 wickets vs Australia, Perth

December

4 wickets vs Australia, Adelaide

9 wickets vs Australia, Brisbane

9 wickets vs Australia, Melbourne