World Cup: India 8-0 Pakistan
And, it was quite fitting that the man who did the most serious damage was one who has an allergy to hyperbole. Jasprit Bumrah sends down thunderbolts, laser-guided heat-seeking ones, but always with a smile.
Bumrah is the one player in the world who rarely gets agitated on the field, and he’s such a sensitive character that he sometimes flinches when expletives are used in charged-up team meetings.
But, don’t mistake that soft exterior for weakness.
On the black soil pitch that was on the slow side and lacked carry, Bumrah fixated on a hard length early on, giving almost nothing away. Pakistan’s strategy continued to be one where they would bat conservatively and keep wickets in hand, to go hard towards the death.
Bumrah did not like that plan.
Returning to bowl with a scruffy, almost brown, ball in the 34th over, Bumrah produced a thing of beauty to get rid of Mohammad Rizwan (49). Running in hard, arms windmilling at speed Bumrah let go of an off-cutter that had the batsman completely fooled.
Rizwan played all around the ball and had his off stump pegged back.
In his very next over, Bumrah went one better, this peach a thing of utter gorgeousness, but in mirror image. The delivery Shadab Khan got was slanted in towards the right hand batter and it straightened hard after booming off the surface, triggering the off stump.
It was as though Bumrah had no ears for the deafening din of arguably the largest crowd at an ODI, or eyes for the sea of humanity that was cheering and waving and having a gigantic party in the stands.
