Jasprit Bumrah is an enigma from the moment he turns at the end of his bowling mark.

It's an enigma that few Australian batters have managed to crack. For that matter, few batters around the world.

First come 10, almost dainty steps at walking pace.

Then, after a noticeable bob of his torso to spark up the energy to enter a trot, 10 or so more steps follow at something closer to a canter.

After that, with stiff, jerky arms and legs, Bumrah unleashes his whip-like right arm and the ball careers down towards the batter at anything from 125 to 140 kilometres per hour, with swing — both orthodox and reverse — and seam movement all factoring into the venom being flung down towards a thoroughly bamboozled batter.

Bumrah's unorthodox style, coupled with his unnerving accuracy, contributed to Australia's calamitous defeat in Perth to the tune of match figures of 8-72.

His staggering opening spell of 3-9 in six soul-destroying overs on day one laid the foundation for the Aussies to be bowled out for just 104 and his ability to take key wickets at vital times throughout the Test was crucial in completing the 295-run victory.

"Credit where it's due," Mitch Starc told ABC Sport following day one. 

This has been Bumrah's way for almost his entire international career across all formats of the game.

Ever since Bumrah, described by Australian coach Andrew McDonald as "unbelievable", made his India debut in an ODI at the SCG in January 2016, Australian supporters have been fascinated by his unique approach to the crease and action.

The principle reason Bumrah can generate so much extra pace than might be expected is down to the rubbery hyperextension of his elbow, which appears as much as 20 degrees or even more from the perpendicular.

As a result, Bumrah releases the ball over his straight and braced front leg far closer to the batter than someone with an orthodox action — Indian TV station Sony Liv analysed his release point and noted it was 48cm closer to the batter than a ball released by West Indian quick Kemar Roach.

The effect of this is to reduce the amount of time Bumrah gives batters to react to a ball, the evidence suggesting it makes the ball feel as much as 5kph faster than it actually is.

"He runs in so slow and you think this guy could bowl 120 [kph], but he's bowling 135 and then he has a quick ball that's 150," Marnus Labuschagne told cricket.com.au in the lead up to the Test, prior to being trapped LBW by the 30-year-old with a glorious inswinger in the second innings.

"If you haven't faced him before, it can really unsettle you," Josh Hazlewood said. 

"He's pretty much half a yard quicker than what the actual speed gun says.

"He's like a slingshot loading up and letting go."

That physiology is unique among fast bowlers, Starc said that he would "probably snap" if he attempted to bowl in the same way.

"He's obviously got a fair bit of hyperextension in that elbow and does things a lot of actions won't let you do," he said after day one in Perth.

"I'm sure there's something in that release point, that's significant to his action. It's something a lot people can't do. I'm certainly not going to go try it. I'd probably snap."

That's not all.

Using his incredible supple wrists, Bumrah utilises a whippy action to impart an enormous amount of backspin on the ball, distorting its flight and changing where it should pitch based on its point of delivery when compared to a "normal" quick.

Knowing why is all very well, but it doesn't appear to have done much good.

"Bumrah is now the most analysed player in cricket in current times," ABC commentator Harsha Bhogle wrote on X during the Test. 

"And yet, batters are no closer to figuring out the best way to play him."

Where does Bumrah stand?

Watching Bumrah terrorise Australia in the way he did in Perth, it is hard to believe he has played just 41 Tests.

He was sidelined for the best part of 12 months and played just one Test in 2023 due to a dreaded stress fracture in his back, arguably one of the worst injuries a paceman can have.

The Indian star's numbers so far into his career are simply staggering. He has picked up 181 wickets at a paltry average of 20.06 and a strike rate of 43.60.

Of all pace bowlers to have taken over 100 Test wickets, Bumrah's current average ranks fourth all-time. The three players ahead of him — George Lohmann, Sydney Barnes and Charlie Turner — all played in either the late 1800s or the early 1900s.

In terms of players to have made their Test debuts after 2000, South Africa's Kagiso Rabada is the closest comparison to Bumrah, having taken 313 wickets at an average of 21.49.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins is also in the Bumrah ballpark, with his 272 Test wickets coming at an average of 22.85.

Perhaps even more impressive is Bumrah's strike rate, which ranks sixth all-time among quicks to have taken over 100 Test wickets behind Lohmann, Rabada, Barnes, Dale Steyn and Waqar Younis.

For comparison's sake, Cummins (47.2) and Mitchell Starc (48.8) are the best Aussie quicks in terms of strike rates.

Bumrah's success so far has travelled wherever he has played. He has multiple five-wicket hauls in every country he has played in barring New Zealand, where he has played in just two Test matches to date.

For the best part of two decades, the mark of how good an international cricketer really is has often been how they perform in Australia.

After his massacre of the Aussies in Perth, Bumrah is now up to 40 wickets in eight Tests Down Under at a startling average of 18.80.

Bumrah is easily the most prolific bowler to have toured Australia since 2000, and ranks alongside Sir Richard Hadlee (77 wickets at 17.83 in 12 Tests) and Curtly Ambrose (78 wickets at 19.79 in 14 Tests) as one of the best pacemen to have visited the country.

It is very likely that Bumrah is the best pace bowler to tour Australia since Ambrose last strode Down Under with the West Indies in 1997. He has so far outperformed the likes of Steyn and Jimmy Anderson in Test matches played in Australia, albeit in a smaller sample size.

Unlike most of his compatriots, Bumrah has played more Tests abroad than at home, with just 12 of his 41 Tests coming in India.

India isn't known for producing pace-friendly tracks, but this hasn't stopped Bumrah from being equally prolific in home Tests, where he has picked up 47 wickets at an average of 17.19.

That average ranks him ahead of Australia's Alan Davidson (44 wickets at 17.86) and West Indies quick Wes Hall (54 wickets at 20.05) in terms of being one of the most damaging pacemen to have played in Asia.

Don't think that just because the Adelaide Test is a day-nighter things will get any easier for Australia's beleaguered batters though — Bumrah's pink ball Test wickets come at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 31.8.

Due to being a late-bloomer, Bumrah is unlikely to finish among the top 10 all-time Test wicket-takers, unless he's able to emulate Anderson by playing well into his 30s.

At 30, Anderson had already played over double the amount of Tests Bumrah has (84) en-route to becoming the all-time leading pace wicket taker in Tests with 704 in 188 matches. 

However, after 41 Tests, the same mark Bumrah has currently played, Anderson had just 140 wickets at an average of 34.34.

Bumrah's numbers after 41 Tests are similar to Australian great Glenn McGrath, who had amassed 185 wickets at an average of 23.56 to that point in his career. 

Steyn, who is widely considered the best paceman of his generation, took 211 wickets in his first 41 Tests at an average of 23.13.

Bumrah has gained some comparisons to West Indies great Malcolm Marshall due to his deceptive pace and unorthodox run-up, and Marshall's numbers after 41 Tests are similar to the Indian star.

When Marshall played his 41st Test in early 1986, he'd picked up 193 wickets at an average of 21.84.

Bumrah's only real modern-day matches are Rabada and Cummins. Rabada had an impressive 190 wickets at 22.57 after his 41st Test, while Cummins had 197 wickets at an average of 21.27.

The only question surrounding Bumrah is just how long he'll be able to extend his career.

India needs to be mindful of putting too much on his plate, as England did with Jofra Archer before he broke down with a series of injuries that have ground his career to a halt.

Although he plays all three formats, it will be no surprise if Bumrah phases away from white ball tournaments as he reaches his mid-30s, as many other bowlers such as Anderson did at the latter stages of their respective careers.

The good news for India is Bumrah is the lead dog in a country that suddenly seems to be flush with fast bowling talent.

If the start of his career is anything to go by, he will retire on the pantheon of fast bowlers to have played the game.

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