New Delhi: Former South Africa captain Fife du Plessis High praise for India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah The fast bowler’s decisive strike helped India beat England by seven runs in the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium.Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Dubbing Bumrah a match-winner in all formats, Du Plessis said having him in the team was “like having a genie”.Earlier, India posted a mammoth score of 253/7 with Sanju Samson’s 42-ball 89. But England threatened to chase it down, thanks to Jacob Bethell’s sensational century.
With England needing 45 runs in the final three overs and their team gaining momentum, the game took a dramatic turn when skipper Suryakumar Yadav handed the ball to Bumrah in the crucial 18th over.In a game where the bowlers were hammered all over the park, Bumrah conceded just six runs, effectively turning the tide around. England ended up with 246/7, still well behind despite Bethel’s 105.Du Plessis told ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show that India may not fully realize how lucky they are to have a bowler like Bumrah.
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Did Bumrah’s performance change the outcome of the semi-final against England?
“The Indian team doesn’t understand how lucky they are to have him in the team,” Du Plessis said. “That’s been proven time and time again, no matter the format of the game – you just give him the ball and he’s going to win the game.”“It’s a superpower that any captain would dream of. It’s like having a genie – you just rub the lamp and Bumrah comes out,” he added.Du Plessis stressed that even Bumrah’s occasional errors would be difficult for batsmen to exploit due to Bumrah’s unique movement and late release.“They knew the match was going to be full – a yorker or a slow over. He bowled two low fulls in that over and both times Sam Curran came in late. Any other bowler who lacked length like that would have scored six runs,” he explained.“His movement is so unique that it’s hard to tell how fast the ball comes out of his wrist. The mystery makes it hard to pinpoint him.”In one match, Bumrah finished with figures of 1/33 in four overs and produced a staggering 499 runs. As India prepares for the final against New Zealand, the hopes of a billion fans will once again be pinned on their ‘ball wizard’.
