Bumrah — the pace king and the master of the slower one Premium

Bumrah — the pace king and the master of the slower one

Sixty-nine needed off five overs. Almost 14 an over. You’d back the bowling side nine out of ten times, especially considering that the opposition has lost five top batters, but this threatened to be the one-out-of-ten instance. Thanks to a 22-year-old who was playing the innings of his life, an innings that should serve as the springboard to greater things.

It was the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup, India against England. Or, more like, India against Jacob Bethell.

A spectacular batting display with the rejuvenated Sanju Samson leading the way had catapulted the home side to a mammoth 253 for seven, the second time in as many innings batting first that India had topped 250. Just once had a team scored more runs to win a T20I, when South Africa got the 259 needed to overcome West Indies in 2023.

But Bethell was threatening to rain on India’s parade, to ruin the Indian party. The left-hander entered the fray at 38 for two after 4.1 overs, following the dismissal of Jos Buttler to two slices of Indian magic. Jasprit Bumrah, the protagonist of this piece, bowled a fabulous slower ball first up, one that completely did for Harry Brook, the England captain. Reaching out to drive, Brook found that the ball came much, much slower than he anticipated; all he did was slice it in the air, the bottom hand coming off the bat.

As the ball looped towards deep cover, Axar Patel whirled around from inside the circle, ran in pursuit of the aerial orb, his eyes trained unblinkingly on the ball coming over his shoulder. A stretch, a fall with the ball nestled firmly in his big hands, Axar had completed one of the catches of the tournament. The Wankhede Stadium erupted in delight, India heaved a sigh of relief because Brook is the kind of player that can single-handedly influence the outcome of a contest, like he had done a week or so previously against Pakistan in Sri Lanka.

Bethell came in with a clear game plan – take the fight to the bowlers, not allow them to settle down. He backed away to his second ball from Bumrah, who followed him, targeting his pads. The left-hander was up to the task, swinging the ball to long-leg for six. A glorious shot, if ever there was one. Then came a stunning assault against Varun Chakaravarthy, then the No. 1 T20I bowler in the world. A pull over long-on, a drive over long-off, a reverse swat over deep-point – three balls, three sixes, the Chakaravarthy threat dismantled.