Jasprit Bumrah has swung into the headspace of the Australians. That is what it seemed in the Perth Test.

Bumrah’s performance would obviously be central to India’s prospects in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. For Australia, it’s all about tackling the ‘Bumrah fear factor’ if they harbour hopes of registering their first series win over India in 10 years.

But, in the series opener in Perth, Australia, including stars like Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, looked all at sea before the India pace spearhead, who finished with a match-haul of eight wickets to be pivotal to his team’s 1-0 lead in the series.

The second Test in Adelaide, beginning on December 6, will be a day-night game, which means it could only be tougher to negotiate Bumrah when he runs in with the pink ball, particularly during the twilight period. So, how do Australia tackle the No.1-ranked bowler then?

“Just play him,” was Michael Hussey’s tongue-in-cheek comment while speaking to The Telegraph from Perth. The former left-handed middle-order batsman, a
vital component of the Australian middle order during his playing days, feels the Smiths can take a leaf out of Travis Head’s book in terms of dealing with Bumrah.

Head hit a counterattacking 89 off 101 balls to put up some resistance for Australia in the fourth innings of the Perth Test. He eventually fell to Bumrah but did attempt to make use of the scoring opportunities during his 153-minute stay in the middle.

“You’ve got to remain positive against Bumrah and can’t just let him bowl as he wishes to. You need to make sure to put the loose balls away. But that’s easier said.

“Nonetheless, Travis Head did show that if you remain positive, you can score runs off his bowling too. So probably, the Australians can draw some inspiration from Head,” Hussey, who made 79 Test appearances for Australia
with 19 centuries averaging 51.52, explained.

Head’s ability aside, what Australia also need to brighten their prospects of keeping India at bay in the coming Tests is Smith’s return to form. The former Australia captain tallies only 68 runs in his last six innings, while the buzz is this could also be his last Test series if he fails to turn things around.

Hussey, however, trusts Smith to regain form. “Well, he is an experienced player, and such rough patches come in every player’s career.

“Smith too has been through tough times in his career and he has come through them. He has proved in the past that he can do it. Too much criticism sometimes
can spur you on and help to prove our doubters wrong,” Hussey, currently the batting coach of the Chennai Super Kings, emphasised.

Smith scored his last Test century in June 2023 during the Ashes at Lord’s. Despite the slump, he averages 56.40 in Test cricket. So, is his problem, as well as that of Labuschagne, more mental?

“Probably yes... It’s the rough patches, as I said, which make the going even tougher for a player experiencing such a phase. Both of them might be feeling the same sort of thing.

“But, there’s always the scope of a comeback and they have done it before... Conditions in Perth weren’t too easy as well, while Bumrah’s one of the best in the world,” Hussey feels.

Hussey, though, refused to read much into Labuschagne’s innocuous second-innings dismissal in Perth that drew flak, especially as he offered no shot to a shaping-in delivery from Bumrah and was adjudged lbw. “You need to understand the situation. It was more of a survival mode for Marnus towards the close of the day’s play. It was those nasty little 20 minutes of play (during the final session on Day III) and he just wanted to survive.”