Captain gave me the confidence of doing whatever I want: Jasprit Bumrah

The 2nd T20I between India and England went down to the wire. A humdinger of an encounter showed why it is the bowlers who are known to be winners of the game. Jasprit Bumrah emerged as the star of the match after putting up a brilliant bowling display. He gave away just 3 and 2 runs in his last two overs to seal the match for India. He successfully defended 8 runs in the final overs to see India eke out a narrow win by just 5 runs. Earlier in the day, KL Rahul’s fighting 71 off 47 balls helped India post a below par 144/8 on the board. Ashish Nehra bowled well to scalp 2 quick wickets up front.

However, the likes of Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler all played cameos to see England cruising towards the target. Then arrived the Jasprit Bumrah moment as the Baroda pacer snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He mentioned that he kept thinking about the good memories when he was bowling and that helped him do well in the final over. Also, sticking to the basics helped him get over the line eventually.

“It’s always difficult bowling in the death. I try to focus on my good days and remember those days when I am bowling. We saw the first innings; the wicket was difficult. To clear the back of the length deliveries and slower balls out of the ground was difficult. We were trying to execute that. I try to stick to my basics. The ball was getting wet, so bowling yorkers was difficult. Hence I bowled back of a length and on the stumps,” quoted Jasprit Bumrah.

Bumrah, who returned with figures of 2/20 in his four overs, was adjudged the Man of the Match for his marvel effort. He pointed out that he tried to assess the wicket when India was batting. He knew that Jos Buttler can be a dangerous prospect to deal with and was up with a plan for him in the final overs. He thanked the skipper for backing him up for the crucial moment.

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“I tried to assess the wicket. Tried to learn from whatever I saw in the first innings. On this wicket, I thought it’s a big ground and it’s on the slower side, so back of the length deliveries and slower balls worked well. We all know what Buttler is capable of, but I was trying to stick to my plan. Tried to bowl stump to stump. Back of length deliveries on the stumps were difficult. There was significant dew. Didn’t expect so much and because of that, the back of length deliveries skid along. The wicket was up and down so back of a length deliveries worked well,” said Jasprit Bumrah.

“Captain’s confidence always helps. He’s given me the freedom of doing whatever I want to. So I can stick to my strengths. The confidence is always helpful. Happy that we came on the winning end,” he added further.

Jasprit Bumrah was well supported by the veteran pacer Ashish Nehra. Nehra bagged 3/28 on the day and was a key to India’s victory. He lauded the efforts of Bumrah on the day and said that he had adviced Bumrah to bowl a yorker outside off in the last over.

“It was a pressure game. The only thing on my mind was to give as many runs to Jasprit (to defend) . One bad ball, one good shot and it would have been over. Hats off to the way Jasprit bowled the last over. We know how good a bowler he is with the old ball. I don’t think anything was wrong with that ball (the one Buttler hit for six to cap off his spell),” said Nehra.

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“I did whatever best I could do. I told Bumrah that even if he goes for four (last ball), we will still win. He asked me if he should bowl a length ball but I told him to bowl a yorker outside off, with the kind he has. Even if it’s a full toss, it will go for a four, not for a six. With 32 odd needed off the last 4 overs, I told him that we will win,” he added.

English skipper Eoin Morgan rued the fact that they lost the game despite being in total command of the match for most part of it. He commended Root and Stokes for their knocks but also reconciled with the fact that Jasprit Bumrah bowled a beauty of a spell. He is now looking forward to the final showdown at Bengaluru.

“We were in the driving seat right up until the last over. Needing 8 runs, you probably win the game 99 times out of 100. Didn’t start the over well. A decision went against us. Losing the ‘in’ batsman cost us. Fair play to Bumrah to produce a match winning over. We bowled very well to back up our previous performance with the ball. These last two games, we’ve been right on the money with the ball on wickets which don’t suit us,” said Morgan.

“All credit to the bowlers. We never let the rate get away from us in the chase. Root and Stokes played well. We were right up with the rate until the end. Unbelievably disappointing to lose this game. Got to take it on the chin. It’s extremely competitive. Two teams not giving each other an inch and not giving any leeway to maneuvre. All down to Bengaluru now,” Eoin Morgan added further.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli was mighty pleased with the effort. He credited the bowlers for the win. He also had a word of praise for opener KL Rahul, who hit a crucial 71 in the match.

“It’s important to have belief. It was a case of us executing really well initially. Bumrah and Nehra were outstanding in the end. To defend 40 in five overs with dew present is outstanding. Chahal bowled well. Mishra was outstanding as well. Raina bowled four for us so we didn’t have to bowl Pandya with the wet ball. Initially Nehra was brilliant with the new ball. Removed both openers. Strong character shown by the side, something I am proud of. Nehra is an experienced performer, he knows what to do,” said Kohli.

“Bumrah was asking me what to do every ball. Just told him to back his skills. Even if it goes for a six, you still wake up tomorrow. It’s not the end of the world. It was an outstanding innings from Rahul on a pitch where shot-making was difficult. He’s one player who has all the shots in the book. He nominates areas that he wants to hit in and hits proper shots. It’s like my second home, can’t wait to go there (Bengaluru). All to play for in the last game. We’ll try to be more expressive. Some things we need to tighten up but all in all a very good performance,” Kohli conceded.