The former head coach of India, Ravi Shastri stopped short of calling Jasprit Bumrah a magician with the ball while he did mention that beating Pakistan’s attack during group stages was his highlight in T20 World Cup play in the Americas and an astonishing win by Rohit Sharma’s team over South Africa in the final.
India won by six runs against their arch rivals in a Group A match where they had to defend a meagre 119. The game changed when Bumrah got rid of Mohammad Rizwan who was going big at 80/3 for Pakistan.
After that, you remember anything about the Barbados final bout? Precious little! However, for those who will remember that final fixture forever, Bumrah came into action bowling four runs only in his 16th over and removing Marco Jansen for making sure his side defends its tally of 176 against Proteas.
“Just showed what it takes… you know it’s very few times when you have a ball in your hand and say ‘do this and the ball does that’,” said Ravi Shastri on Parami News quoting ICC Review.
Ravi Shastri added: “I think the India-Pakistan (match) because India were made to fight there and realise what the right combination should be going forward in the tournament. That and then of course the (T20 World Cup) final, those final five overs.”
In these last overs, Rohit set Bumrah loose on Rizwan who was well set up, with Wicket turning things completely around for India.
“I’ll say one is Jasprit (Bumrah) getting Mohammad Rizwan; I think that’s extremely crucial because it might have tilted the balance of game. And it happened on first ball of new spell,” he explained.
Bumrah also mentioned Jansen as his other favorite moment from this tournament.
“Bring him back to the attack, it reversed and went right through bat and pad (of Marco Jansen),” Shastri said it was a very crucial wicket at that stage.
Jansen became the sixth Protea wicket in the eighteenth over. South Africa needed 21 off the last fifteen balls to win.
Suryakumar Yadav was caught by all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the 17th over with Rishabh Pant behind stumps.
“Hardik (Pandya) had done the main damage by taking Klaasen (in the previous over) but I thought back-to-back, that over and that wicket was extremely important.”
Bumrah walked away with “Player of the Tournament” after picking up 15 scalps at an average of 8.26; Ravi Shastri compared him to ex-greats like late Shane Warne, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis who also played white ball cricket in their prime.
“I thought only a few have been able to do that. When they were playing white-ball cricket, I think Wasim (Akram) and Waqar (Younis) had it. Shane Warne used to tell what ball to go where, pitch where, hit leg stump,” said Shastri.
“This is what people on top of their game can do! And I think Bumrah showed that in this World Cup,” he added.
He appreciated Suryakumar Yadav’s amazing boundary catch which sent David Miller back into pavilion reducing Proteas to 161/7 off just five deliveries remaining in this match.
This is a game changer (catch), because you know what David (Miller) can do, Shastri said.
“And another big shot (from Miller), and I mean that there it’s anybody’s game. Well, [but] so I thought the timing couldn’t have been better.”
Shastri expressed amazement at Pant’s unwavering determination to get back from being critically injure in a car accident that kept him out of cricket for over a year.
“He did his job with the bat but it was his keeping that really took everyone by surprise. For someone to recover like that so fast and then move like he did.”
“He didn’t miss much though, even if it must have felt as though the tournament was getting on top of him because one does not just bounce back and do everything he did,” added Shastri.
