India’s match-winner Jasprit Bumrah will be hoping to produce another deadly spell against USA in the T20 World Cup match in New York on Wednesday.
Fresh from his man-of-the-match winning performance (4-0-14-3) against Pakistan on the same ground on Sunday, the Indian pace spearhead could be too hot to handle for the cricket minnows who had stunned Pakistan in their second game of the tournament.
Bumrah is in a rich spell of form, following a strong IPL campaign with a 2-6 spell against Ireland in the Group A opener before Sunday’s show.
But amid the heady praise Bumrah, who suffered a serious back injury in 2022, said he was quick to remember how opinions can change.
“A year ago the same people were saying that I might not play again and my career is over. But I don’t look at that. For me, I try to solve the problem that is there in front of me and try to control the controllables,” he said.
It was Bumrah’s incisive spell of fast bowling that helped India defend a modest total of 119 against Pakistan on Sunday.
“I was trying to focus on what is the best option over here on a wicket like this. How do I make shot making difficult? What are the best options for me? So that way I try to stay in the present and focus on what I have to do,” he said.
“Because if I look at the outside noise, if I look at people and pressure and emotion takes over, then things don’t really work for me.”
It was an approach that Bumrah said the team took as a collective despite the huge pressure that comes with the expectations around the India team, especially against Pakistan.
“Not at any stage did I feel that the panic had spread in the team and we were looking too far ahead. So that’s a really positive sign,” he said.
“The biggest positive for us was the calmness because when we were batting in the morning, there was a lot more help.
“And then when we started bowling, the skies opened up and the ball stopped seaming and there wasn’t a lot of lateral movement. So we had to be more consistent and more accurate.
“And we as a unit were very calm and very clear on what we wanted to do. So very happy that as a unit we were able to contribute and created that pressure and then we were able to get the win,” he said.
Bumrah said that he had learnt over time that in situations where the pitch can offer some help, it remains crucial not to go too far with attacking intent.
“In that aspect, experience does help you a little bit because whenever there is help, you can get excited, you can try and go pole hunting, you can bowl bouncers, you can bowl out-swingers, in-swingers but you don’t have to do that,” he said.
“I have learned that over the experience. But this time, the ball was not doing a lot. Yes, we did create pressure. Little bit of lateral movement was there but not too much. Not as pronounced as the last game,” he said.