NEW DELHI: As India defeated Afghanistan by 47 runs to make a winning start to their
Super Eights
campaign, in the
T20 World Cup
on Thursday,
Jasprit Bumrah
returned with another match-winning performance.
Chasing 182, Afghanistan were bowled out for 134 with
Bumrah
registering astounding figures of 4-1-7-3.
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Lauding his performance, former Indian cricketer
Mohammad Kaif
said on his official X handle, "India's opponents should thank God that Bumrah wasn't there in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
India had lost to England by 10 wickets and we were smothered by
Jos Buttler
and Alex Hales, it was a shameful defeat but Bumrah wasn't there."
Kaif adds, "He (Bumrah) makes a comeback in the Asia Cup after injury, India wins, he plays ODI World Cup and India reaches the finals. And here also, he played first in New York, took wickets there and here also on a slow pitch with no swing, he used the slower ball and the cutter to dismiss the batsmen."
Summing up the dismissal of Afghanistan opener
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
, Kaif says, "Gurbaz left the wicket to hit but Bumrah doesn't change the action when he bowls a slower delivery that spins like a top in the air with so many revolutions and the ball also dips there. Gurbaz reached for the ball, couldn't play it properly and was out caught behind."
Kaif reckoned the same happened with the other Afghanistan opener Hazratullah Zazai, "Zazai went to the leg side to play, but the ball was a slower one and stopped a bit after bouncing and was caught at third man."
Summing up Bumrah's three-wicket haul against Pakistan earlier in the tournament Kaif said, "So Bumrah ke paas aisi kala hai (Bumrah has the art) of bowling according to the conditions. His deliveries hit the deck in seaming conditions. He dismissed Babar (Azam) caught in the slips, clean bowled Rizwan (Mohammad) and in the last over dismissed Iftikhar (Ahmed) by a yorker. So there he was bowling different."
"And here (in Barbados) on a slow pitch where there's no help, he took wickets by changing the pace of deliveries. You won't get a bowler like Bumrah, we Indians are very fortunate that we have a bowler like him who is in such a good form that he will play a crucial role in India winning the World Cup. Thank you so much Bumrah," Kaif concluded.
On a slow-paced Barbados wicket, Bumrah took three wickets for just seven runs and his four-over spell was aided by
Arshdeep Singh
, who finished with 3-36. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2-32) and Axar Patel (1-15) shared three wickets after Suryakumar Yadav scored 53 off 28 balls — his fifth T20 World Cup half-century — as India reached 181/8 in 20 overs after deciding to bat.
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