NEW YORK: A day has gone by, but we are still in a bit of a daze. Under a brilliant Sunday sun in New York, India engineered a magnificent come-from-behind win against Pakistan that was one of their best in recent times.
The win is, probably, at par with what the same bunch did against Pakistan in Melbourne in their
T20 World Cup
opener one-anda-half years ago.
On that day it was the best batsman in modern cricket — Virat Kohli — who cornered all the glory. This time, it was down to India’s greatest match-winner with the ball,
Jasprit Bumrah
, who was not part of the 2022 team due to a career-threatening back injury.
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At one stage, the match was slipping out of India’s grasp. With Pakistan needing 40 off 36 balls and Mohammed Rizwan fighting it out, it seemed game over for Rohit Sharma’s men, until Bumrah (3/14) decided he wouldn’t let that happen.
His last two overs — the 15th and the 19th of the innings — cost merely five runs as Pakistan choked in the chase of 119.
“That third over of mine, if that had gone Pakistan’s way, the game would have gone in their favour. We were very happy that we pulled it off and I think at that moment the game shifted our way,” Bumrah said about the game-changing 15th over, in which he dismissed Rizwan.
Bumrah was the leader of the pack, guiding the bowlers on how to go about things when things looked to be spiralling out of control. The pitch had quite a bit in it but the challenge was to not get carried away or try for the magic ball that could well be counter-productive.
“We had to be accurate because if we go for magic deliveries and try to be too desperate, run-making could become easy because they knew the target. So, we had to be very mindful of not overdoing it and add up to the pressure by using the big boundaries. We were able to create that and everybody got wickets,” Bumrah said.
While the 30-year-old was more than happy to share the accolades with his teammates, there is no denying that the paceman has been in the form of his life in the last few months across formats.
He was brilliant in the ODI World Cup last year, followed it up with match-winning spells against England in Test matches on pitches that had nothing for the faster bowlers. In the IPL, where his team Mumbai Indians played some of their worst cricket, Bumrah was the lone standout, 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.
Is the paceman in the best phase of his career?
A smiling Bumrah said, “A year ago, the same people were saying that I might not play again and my career is over and now the question has changed. I don’t look at it that way. For me it is about bowling at the best of my ability and trying to solve the problem that is there in front of me.”
When the outside noise becomes too much, Bumrah believes in creating “a bubble” for himself and tries to “control the controllables”.
“I know this ‘sticking to the process’ idea is a cliché, but all I try is trying to find the best option for myself. If I look at people and pressure, then emotion takes over and it doesn’t work for me. So, I create my own bubble and try to do my best,” the champion bowler said.
‘Bat vs bat’ bores Bumrah
The bowlers are enjoying a great run and Bumrah doesn’t mind that one bit.
“Our country is a batsman-loving country but I feel it’s good that bowlers are coming to the fore. I enjoy it when there is a challenge between bat and ball. When it becomes bat versus bat, I switch off the TV,” Bumrah said.
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