Jasprit Bumrah expects Ravichandran Ashwin to play a bigger role in the fourth innings of the match as he would have the rough patches on the pitch to exploit.

Australia spinner Nathan Lyon used the rough patches effectively during India’s second innings.

India are currently 166 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand and two days of play left in the first Test.

“Ashwin will obviously play a more crucial role because of the rough… Nathan Lyon used the rough to his advantage. Ashwin is an experienced bowler and knows what he has to do. So he will probably work on it and he will play a crucial role for sure,” Bumrah said at the media conference, at the end of the second day’s play, on Saturday.

Australia were dismissed for 235 in their first innings earlier in the day. According to Bumrah, proper planning helped them to keep the hosts under check.

“We were trying to figure out the lengths that are useful over here. In South Africa and England, there was a lot of lateral movement. Here the wickets are slightly flatter because you get bounce, but you have to be consistent.

“That’s the thing we have read over the years. We were trying to focus on that, that if we don’t give runs, we are creating pressure from both ends and then we could get wickets.”

Bumrah expects India to take a good lead on the fourth day. “I think it (the match) is slightly in our favour… The late wicket (Kohli) was a good thing for them. But we have a good lead. The first session on Sunday will be very important. If we capitalise on that, that will leave us in a very good place in this match.”

Bumrah was all praise for Cheteshwar Pujara’s patience. “Pujara has showed a lot of patience, that is the key element in Tests. He knows his game in and out, and he knows his strengths. He is playing around that strength. He knows how to leave the ball well.

“He is playing with the bowlers’ patience as well. He has done that over the years, and he has started to play with a lot of maturity. That’s his strength. A great knock (in the first innings), and hopefully he continues that on Sunday,” Bumrah said.

This is the first time that Bumrah is playing a Test series in Australia, his previous forays Down Under involving T20 Internationals.