NEW DELHI: India's bowling coach, Paras Mhambrey, emphasised that the team will maintain their intensity and focus against the
United States
following their remarkable victory over Pakistan in the
T20 World Cup
.
The win came on the heels of an exceptional bowling display, which Mhambrey described as one of their finest performances to date.
Despite posting a modest total of 119 runs in the first innings, India's bowlers, led by
Jasprit Bumrah
, orchestrated a dramatic turnaround in the low-scoring thriller against their fierce rivals, Pakistan, at the
Nassau County ground
in New York.
The six-run victory showcased the team's resilience and ability to defend even the most challenging totals.
"There were a couple of them, I thought (but) in a different format. The Test win in South Africa in the last game (Newlands, Cape Town) was phenomenal," Mhambrey said when questioned where did India's bowling show rank for him.
"But if you look at the context of the game, look at the tournament, the pressure, the way to have them handle the pressure, this was definitely very much up there in terms of the performance," he told the media on the eve of their contest against the USA.
"In a game like this, especially when you have so much pressure in terms of the high intensity game, obviously a game against Pakistan is always going to be high intensity whatever you say," he said.
Mhambrey expressed that India had the potential to accumulate a higher score than what they ultimately achieved. However, given the modest total they had to defend, he emphasized that the sole path to success was to extract the maximum performance from each member of the bowling unit.
"It's never going to be a normal game to be able to defend obviously when you're batting you expect in a situation that we were placed nicely to get more runs," he said.
"But especially, when that doesn't happen, you're defending low scores and there's only way out there that you bowl at your best," he added.
Mhambrey cautioned against underestimating any team in the tournament, especially after the United States' thrilling Super-Over victory against Pakistan.
"You can't take any game lightly. This is the World Cup," he said.
"Every game matters. Your rhythm is important. Winning is a habit that you need to get into early. You need to get it early to form the context of the game. Every game is important," he added.
The Indian bowling coach acknowledged that the USA team might have an advantage due to their familiarity with the local playing conditions, given their status as the host nation. However, he emphasised that this factor would not create any significant disparity between the two sides.
"We are used to the conditions like them. We have played enough out here. We know what kind of wicket it is," he said.
Mhambrey expressed confidence in
Ravindra Jadeja
's batting abilities, stating that the team is not overly worried about his current form with the bat.
"It's a team game, right? It's going to be eleven guys, you really don't expect all of them coming into form," he said.
"It's a long tournament. Someone like Jadeja, who is so vastly experienced, he just needs a game of them to just kick his foot around and feel along and we know that the skills that he has and the the experience he's going to go ahead."
"That is the confidence we have and not only on Jadeja but with someone like (Shivam) Dube and others as well," he added.
Mhambrey remains unfazed by the differing characteristics of pitches and playing conditions between the Caribbean and the United States. The contrasting nature of the wickets and environments in these two regions does not seem to be a major concern for him.
"The good thing is that we have already been to the West Indies. We already had a couple of series out there prior to this," he said.
"We know what kind of conditions you're going to encounter. As the team has so much experience, we will adapt, we know that. We have the skills, we have the temperament and the talent to adapt so I'm really not worried," he added.
Mhambrey conveyed his delight regarding the outstanding performance of
Saurabh Netravalkar
, who previously played for India U-19 and Mumbai, while representing the United States.
"(I am) extremely happy. I've watched him play a couple Ranji Trophy games that he played. (It's) great for someone to leave out there, it must be a tough decision," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
English (US) ·