New Delhi: Jasprit Bumrah, India’s man with the golden arm delivered a fiery and inspirational performance to script a memorable comeback to register a 6-run win over Pakistan. Bumrah delivered a spell of 3/14 from his quota of 4 overs. This inspirational performance helped India defend a below-par score of 119 runs and ensured that they had their second victory in the T20 WC.
Pakistan’s head coach, Gary Kirsten “…I thought we had the game…” after the Pakistani bowlers led by Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Amir who were both furious and ruthless in the first innings. Indian batsmen failed to tackle the uneven bounce of the pitch and succumbed one after another.
Sanjana Ganesan interviewing Jasprit Bumrah after the historic win against Pakistan.
– Couple Goals. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YuhgBky9GR
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 10, 2024
Everyone thought that India would lose the match by a huge margin and it would be a cakewalk for Babar and Co. to steamroll past the men in blue. However, captain Rohit Sharma and India’s Mr Dependable with the ball, Jasprit Bumrah had other plans. They indeed made the game “Funny” in the words of Gary Kirsten!
Cometh the hour! Cometh the man!..
Jasprit Bumrah, the nemesis for other teams (as they say bas naam hi kafi hai) and a saviour for team India has done it again for India! Bumrah was absent from the bowling lineup which was visible in the last T20 WC performance of India. Now, with the ‘boom-boom!’ factor back in the squad, the Indian bowling lineup looks reliable and robust more than ever.
When someone asks what Jasprit Bumrah was capable of, show them this. 🐐🇮🇳
– From 8% to 100%…!!!! pic.twitter.com/5MS2wP50Ox
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 9, 2024
However, cricket pundits and commentators have also lauded the Indian skipper for his sagacious use of Bumrah. Sharma did not start Bumrah with the new ball and gave him the ball only in the third over. The first two overs of the spell proved to be a game-changer as Bumrah scalped the Pakistani skipper, Babar Azam.
After seeing how clueless Pakistani batsmen were against Bumrah yesterday. It reminded me of this shot by Abdullah Shafique vs Jasprit Bumrah. No one else in Pakistan can play this type of shot. pic.twitter.com/nkGWyeg3Sd
— Haroon (@hazharoon) June 10, 2024
But the game tilted in favour of Bumrah in the return spell of Bumrah. With the sun fully poised at the top of the pitch and no lateral movement on the pitch, Jasprit tried his slower ones at times taking the aid of the pitch to bamboozle the Pakistani batsmen. Waqar Younis who had anticipated the brilliance of the Indian skipper has feared this spell of Bumrah in the commentary box.
Another player who emerged as a hero in the match was the explosive left-hand batsman Rishabh Pant. Pant’s 42 off 31 ensured that India did not end with a below-100 score. Moreover, it was a chivalrous counter-attack which sent out a message that India is not backing down from a fight!