India's Jasprit Bumrah with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja celebrates the wicket of Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Ahmedabad: Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah traced the origin of his fine 2 for 19 spell that played a big part in India bowling out Pakistan for 191 in their World Cup match on Saturday to his ability to read the pitch at a venue where he played a lot cricket from the junior days.
After bundling out Pakistan for a below-par score, India chased down the target in a little over 30 overs to celebrate a seven-wicket win.
Bumrah was later adjudged as the player of the match.
"I have played a lot of junior cricket on this ground. Since it was a flat wicket, I tried to implement that experience of mine here," Bumrah told Hardik Pandya in a video posted by BCCI.
"Before getting hit for four boundaries, it's vital to realise about the wicket right after one boundary. That's what I was trying to communicate," he added.
As fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj reminded Bumrah about his fiery spell against Afghanistan in Delhi, Bumrah attributed the success at that venue to the IPL. "There I tried to use my IPL experience about how to bowl on flat wickets. I have been playing in the IPL for the past 11 years, so it helps."
Pandya credited Bumrah for his thinking mind while bowling: "If he gets hammered for a four off a flick, he instantly bowls a slower one. He is a legendary bowler."
Meanwhile, Siraj admitted that he was nervous and under pressure during the match against Pakistan.
"It was my first Indo-Pak match in India and my first World Cup stint, so I was highly nervous, along with some pressure," he said.
Siraj then described how he plotted the dismissal of Pakistan opener Abudllah Shafique. "I had a talk with Rohit about Abdullah Shafique's wicket. While my first bouncer didn't work well, I tricked him into guessing about another bouncer and bowled a fuller one to trap him leg-before."
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja lauded the entire Indian bowling unit. India took the last eight wickets of Pakistan conceding a mere 36 runs.
"It felt really good to bowl them out for 191 after they were 155/2. It's a great comeback as a bowling unit. We came hunting in pairs and captured a couple of wickets each."
Have been trying to bat like this: Rohit
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma played a brilliant 86, taking his side to victory. The elegant right-hander explained about his methods to Pandya.
"It's a good feeling to win a game like this. I have been trying to bat like this for the last two years because the wickets are so good. I want to play my shots. I know I missed out on a hundred."
Rohit also talked about him showing the muscle to umpire Marais Erasmus after hammering a 90-metre six off pacer Haris Rauf. "He (Erasmus) was asking me as to how I could hit such big sixes. Is there something in my bat? I said it's about my power."