Ahmedabad: After starting issues against the USA in the tournament opener, resounding victories against Namibia and Pakistan have shown the well-oiled Indian engine is set for a smooth run. Why would it not be with the fleet being led by a Ferrari, as bowling coach Morne Morkel refers to Jasprit Bumrah.
If anything, India would want to trial the idea of bowling first before the Super 8 stage. That said, the jury is out on how much resistance the Netherlands can offer after being mauled by the USA in their previous game.
India returns to the big match venue in Ahmedabad where they have their first Super 8 match lined up in a few days time and a promise of the final, next month. It does not take much to get India’s fiery 15 going. A strong crowd at the Narendra Modi stadium certainly will. The defending champions will be looking to fortify their gameplans. On top of their mind would be how to best use their ace with the ball.
For Bumrah, Ahmedabad is home. This is where the local coaches put up with his unorthodox ways even when most people felt his bowling was too good to last at a higher level. He’s grown to become elite among the elites. One so precious that the Indian team tries to maximise his use across phases of a T20 match.
If you thought that was India’s go-to strategy in the format’s flagship competition, the Pakistan match proved otherwise. Bumrah’s inswinging full ball to get Saim Ayub, catching Salman Agha’s leading edge – the twin strikes that sealed the issue early, may work as a temptation for the Indians to see if they may want to use their ace pacer more aggressively. In Colombo, after the successful first over, Bumrah was asked to back it up with another one where he could search for swing.
Bumrah won’t say it out loud, but every fast bowler yearns for early strikes. “I am happy wherever the team wants me to bowl,” Bumrah told ICC digital. “But yes, the conditions helped swing bowling a little bit. I think that was the reason they thought I should start with the new ball. And it was a good day where the execution was good.”
The last match against Pakistan was the first instance after six matches that India utilised half of Bumrah’s quota in the Powerplay. He has otherwise bowled only a solitary over at the start with Hardik Pandya ably filling in.
Playing the extra seamer may have contributed to the switch in strategy, but setting the tone early with your best bowler may also be a ploy worth going back to at every opportunity. In the Asia Cup, heavily dominated by spin, they even flirted with the idea of bowling Bumrah for three overs on the trot while the field was up.
There are occasions in the ever-evolving T20 landscape which demands a fine balance between attack and defence. Bumrah’s two overs are preserved for the death for his supreme defensive skills. The more evenly matched sides are, the greater chance there is of the matches being decided at the backend of the innings. That’s where Bumrah’s pinpoint yorkers, even the dipping full-tosses, his variety of slower balls become difficult to counter.
What’s left then of his quota and how to use his special skills to the fullest becomes a tantalizing question, especially knowing there is no one of his bowling range in the tournament.
“We decide on that based on the team we are facing, where we can make a greater impact. Obviously I am a big believer in taking wickets in the first Powerplay and sending a strong message,” Morkel said last month about best using his leading pacer. “Again, he’s so skillful he can take wickets in the middle phase.”
If bringing in Kuldeep Yadav was necessary for the longer boundaries in Colombo, the strategy may be different for the more batter friendly Narendra Modi stadium surface. If the South Africa-Afghanistan contest was anything to go by, expect runs aplenty.
Every time India has held back Bumrah’s over for the middle overs, he has often tried to spring a surprise on the batter with a slower ball to begin his second spell, and found some success.If a breakthrough in the middle overs is needed, the Mumbai Indians have often turned to Bumrah as well.
His skills aside, Bumrah is a spectacular bowling mind, whose reading of conditions, his fellow pacers rely on. It comes as no surprise that India prefers to keep the opposition guessing. Bumrah didn’t turn up for an optional training day on Tuesday, but it would be a surprise if he rested even in a dead rubber. Surely, the leading pace bowler of his time would not want to miss out on a chance to stamp his class in an ICC world event of the T20 variety, like Mohammed Shami did with ODI World Cups.
