Jasprit Bumrah sent a timely reminder to the world why he is a fast bowler that is a class apart from anyone in the globe with a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the series opener between England and India at the Headingley Cricket Stadium in Leeds.

While the support cast around him disappointed, Bumrah was at the top of his game with a spell of 5-83 as India managed to take a six-run lead in the first innings. The 31-year-old managed to reach the milestone with a five-wicket haul despite a wicket of a no-ball and four dropped catches of his bowling.

After Bumrah's impressive display, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that the impact Bumrah is having on matches is unparalleled and compared it to New Zealand cricket legend Richard Hadlee. The cricket-turned-commentator stated that Hadlee also played in a weak attack but managed to produce wickets on flat pitches.

“We’ve seen four hundreds in the match so far — three from India and one from England — but which bowler has been truly special? For me, it’s just Bumrah. Just the ability to manufacture a wicket every time he came into the attack is what stands out.

"The one bowler that comes to mind, someone with that kind of impact single-handedly, is Sir Richard Hadlee. He played for a New Zealand team with a relatively weaker attack, but every time he came on, you felt a wicket was around the corner. The common thread between the two is mastery — when I watched Hadlee from close quarters, he felt like a true master of his trade. I get that same impression with Bumrah," Manjrekar said in an interaction with Jiostar.

Hadlee is New Zealand's highest wicket-taker in history and was the first player from across the globe to take 400 wickets in Test cricket. The legendary all-rounder played 86 Tests and took 431 wickets while also making 3124 runs

Manjrekar's also compared Bumrah's ability to manufacture dismissals with Ben Stokes compared but claimed the Indian star does it more consistently

"With Ollie Pope’s hundred for me, it was also Bumrah in the final over. Just look at this guy — the kind of wicket he picked on a pitch like this. We saw during the 2023 Cricket World Cup how he put himself in a different league from the rest of the fast bowlers, and here he is doing it again. The dismissal came with such nonchalance, and that’s something only Bumrah can manufacture. Ben Stokes does it for England to some degree, but this guy does it consistently.

“In that final over, with Harry Brook trying to survive, what happened was pure drama. We witnessed the genius of Bumrah when he got him to pull a short ball he hadn’t used at all throughout the innings. The setup was brilliant — delivery after delivery outside the off stump — and then came that surprise bouncer. Nowhere in the corner of his mind would Harry Brook have expected it. It came, and he instinctively played the shot," Manjrekar added.