A day has gone by, but we are still slightly confused. Under a bright Sunday sun in New York, India did a great job of coming back to defeat Pakistan when they needed it most.
The victory is arguably on par with the same team’s win against Pakistan in their first T20 World Cup match in Melbourne a year and six months ago.
Then it was Virat Kohli who was the best batsman of modern cricket that took all the applauds. This time, though not included in 2022 squad due to career-threatening spinal injury, it had to be Jasprit Bumrah this moment India’s greatest ball game winner.
India was at one point almost losing grip of that game. At 40 off 36 balls with Mohammed Rizwan hammering away for Pakistan, it looked like game over for Rohit Sharma’s men until Bumrah (3/14) decided he would not let them get away with it.
His last two overs – the 15th and 19th of the innings – cost only five runs as Pakistan choked during the chase of 119 runs.
“The third over I bowled if that had gone their way then probably they would have been able to chase down our target. The fact that we pulled through is something we were very happy about and I think at that point there was a shift in momentum,” said Bumrah speaking about his match-turning fifteenth over that saw him dismiss Rizwan.
He led from the front talking bowlers through what could have easily become an uncontrolled situation. The track offered quite some assistance but avoid being carried away or try any magic delivery which might be counterproductive.
“Accuracy mattered because if you go for magical deliveries or rather let desperation take its course then obviously batting becomes easy; they knew what target is and so for us also boundaries are big. We were very careful never to make undue pressure on ourselves by creating artificial pressure on our own selves and using the big boundaries. We really created that and everyone took wickets,” said Bumrah.
Although happy to share the accolades with fellow players, it is not in doubt that this 30-year old pacer has had an amazing form in all formats of cricket for several months now.
He was outstanding in the ODI World Cup the previous year, carried that form into Tests against England on pitches that did not suit fast bowlers, and he ended up with man-of-the-match performances. Mumbai Indians were awful at IPL, but Bumrah stood out among the rest by taking 20 wickets at an economy rate of 6.48. And now he has got two back-to-back ‘Player of the Match’ awards on the biggest stage.
Can we assume that his best days are behind him?
Bumrah said with a smile on his face, “A year ago people were saying I might never play again and that my career is finished but now they have changed their minds. But I don’t think about it like this. It’s about bowling as well as you can and trying to work out what’s happening.”
Too much outside noise drives him towards creating “a bubble” for himself from which he can “control controllables”.
“I realize that sticking to process is a cliché but all I try to do is find what works best for me. When I start looking at people and pressure, then emotion comes in and it doesn’t help me. So, I create my own bubble and try to do my best,” said the champion bowler.
Bumrah is bored by ‘Bat vs bat’.
Bumrah is having a great time while the bowlers are enjoying themselves.
“I love when bowlers matters and I think it is not bad for us. The TV doesn’t interest me when there’s a competition between bat and ball, but am ok when it turns out to be bats against bats,” Bumrah said.
