IND vs PAK, T20 World Cup 2024: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was full of praise for Jasprit Bumrah after the star pacer gave the team a precious moment of joy in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York witnessed a bowling masterclass from Bumrah who helped India clinch a memorable victory against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, June 9.
The 30-year-old bowled a magnificent spell of 3/14 in his four overs to help India defend an ordinary-looking total of 119 runs as they picked up a six-run win in the thrilling contest.
“He is going from strength to strength (Bumrah). We all know what he can do. Not going to talk too much about him," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
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“We want him to be in that mindset throughout the World Cup. He is a genius, we all know that,” the Indian captain added.
Rohit mentioned that they always had the belief of defending the total considering that the pitch was not that easy for scoring easily.
“With a bowling line-up like that you feel confident to do the job. Halfway through the stage when they were batting, we got everyone together and said that if it can happen to us, it can happen to them.”
The skipper, however, did admit that they should have batted better after being 89 for 3 at one stage.
“We didn't bat well enough. Halfway through our innings we were in a good position. We didn't put enough partnership there and fell short with the bat,” Rohit said about losing 7 wickets for 28 runs.
“We spoke about every run matter on a pitch like that. There was enough on the pitch. It was a good wicket to be honest, compared to the last game.”
“Little contribution from everyone can make a huge difference.”
India after being put into bat first were bowled out for just 119 runs in 19 overs, that too on the back of Rishabh Pant's 42 runs in 31 balls whereas Axar Patel smashed 18-ball 20.
Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf took three wickets each whereas Mohammad Amir took two wickets. Shaheen Afridi also found a scalp.
Chasing the target, Pakistan had an opening stand of 26 runs between skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan with the former taking things forward for his side.
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Just when Pakistan looked favorites with a set batter Rizwan at the crease, Bumrah came up with a crucial breakthrough by dismissing him and also kept things tight till the end.
No boundaries were conceded from the 15th to the 19th over as Bumrah got promising support from other bowlers with Hardik Pandya taking two wickets whereas Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel found a scalp each as well.