With his ability to bowl yorkers at will, Jasprit Bumrah is India’s main weapon as they hunt for their third T20 World Cup title on Sunday.
Bumrah will carry the hopes of a billion-plus fans in the cricket-obsessed country, with former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis hailing Bumrah as India’s “genie”.
Bumrah’s death-over bowling has been key to the team’s success, including their narrow win over England in a high-scoring semi-final on Thursday in Mumbai.
Chasing a record 254, with Jacob Bethell hitting sixes for fun, England needed 45 off 18 balls when India captain Suryakumar Yadav entrusted Bumrah with a pivotal 18th over – his last.
The right-arm quick nailed three perfect yorkers, two low full tosses and a full ball as Bethell and Sam Curran could only squeeze out six runs.
It proved the defining over in a match where bowlers had been lashed to all parts of the ground, as England ended up agonisingly losing by just seven runs despite Bethell’s 105.
“India don’t understand how lucky they are to have him in their ranks,” Du Plessis said of the 32-year-old Bumrah on ESPNcricinfo.
“It is proven time and time again, regardless of the format. You just give him the ball and he wins you games.
“It’s a superpower any captain would dream of. It’s like having a genie – you just rub the lamp and out comes Bumrah.”
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Sanju Samson, who scored 89 to set up India’s mammoth 253-7, called Bumrah “a once-in-a-generation bowler”.
Bumrah, who bowls with an unorthodox front-on slingshot action, returned figures of 1-33 from his four overs in a match where 499 runs were scored at the Wankhede Stadium.
England coach Brendon McCullum told Sky Sports: “Bumrah is the best bowler in the world. He executed brilliantly and shut the game down.”
Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on X: “So many elements in the game to talk about, with sensational batting from both sides.
“But the difference between the two sides in the end was just one guy – the great Jasprit Bumrah.”
The veteran bowler, nicknamed “Boom Boom”, has taken 117 wickets at an economy rate of 6.55 in 94 T20 matches for India since making his debut in 2016.
Bumrah returns to the city of his birth, Ahmedabad, for Sunday’s final against New Zealand, as India attempt to become the first team to retain the trophy and the first to win it on home soil.
His distinctive bowling style was honed during childhood while practising in a small car park near his family’s apartment in the western Indian city, now home to the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium.
Bumrah has also endured his share of struggles, returning to the India team last year after a career-threatening back injury that had also troubled him in 2022 and 2023.
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He was central to India’s triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados, where he helped prevent South Africa from scoring 30 runs off the last 30 balls to win the final – a performance dubbed a “masterclass” by then skipper Rohit Sharma.
The seeds of his greatness were sown at the Mumbai Indians, where he has been a fixture for more than a decade in the IPL.
Former New Zealand batsman John Wright scouted the pace bowler from his home state of Gujarat and brought him to Mumbai in 2013, when the Indians won the first of their five IPL titles.
Bumrah made an instant impact by dismissing Virat Kohli in his first match, and there has been no looking back since.
– AFP
Photo: Prakash Singh/Getty Images