BGT 2024-25: Jasprit Bumrah will be "excited" with grassy pitch in fourth test, reckons MCG head curator

Jasprit Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker of the BGT 2024-25 currently.

The head curator of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Matt Page has given a huge hint at the nature of the surface for the upcoming fourth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

The MCG is set to host the Boxing Day test match of the series that is delicately poised at 1-1 after three captivating test matches.

A pace-friendly surface is expected at the MCG, as has been the case in the last two seasons, and Page has predicted that Jasprit Bumrah, the standout bowler of the series, and other seamers will have fun bowling here.

Three days out from the test match, Page was asked if Bumrah would be happy to bowl at the MCG. The curator revealed that there will be grass on the surface, making the pitch conducive for fast bowling.

Page was quoted as saying by Thewest.com.au, “All the good bowlers get excited when they come here now. It gets through well for us,” Page said on Monday.

“We’re never going to be as quick as Perth and Brisbane, but over the last few years we’ve managed to get some pace in it, which has created that excitement. There’s a bit of grass on it. If you’re a fast bowler and you look at it, you probably do get excited.”

Jasprit Bumrah has been the most dominant bowler of the series so far.

Bumrah has so far taken 21 wickets – the next-best have 14 – at an average of only 10.9 and has an economy of 2.9. He’s been successful majorly at rattling the opposition’s top three.

Meanwhile, Australia have won their last three tests at the MCG, but India won their last two tests here in 2018 and 2020, with Bumrah playing a key role in both those wins.

Batting has been a tough task at the MCG recently. In the 10 innings of the last three tests here, only twice did a team score more than 300 runs, and both times it was the home team who did it.

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