How Bumrah rises above matchups

He is a touch better against left-handed batters

- Rasesh Mandani

“I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me,” Michael Jordan once said. Without Jordan's swagger, Jasprit Bumrah exemplifies that sentiment through his actions, over and over again. The ace paceman showed no fear when India captain Suryakumar Yadav signalled him to bowl the 18th over of the Thursday night thriller against England at the Wankhede.

When the captain calls for Bumrah-time early in a crunch situation, it’s usually with the expectation to shut the match down. And he unfailingly delivers.

In circumstances similar to the 2024 T20 World Cup final, when South Africa needed 22 runs in 18 balls while chasing 177, then captain Rohit Sharma took the gamble to deploy his trump card. Here, England required 45 runs in 18 balls, chasing 254. But India had a sixth bowler’s over remaining, the pitch was a belter and England had a batter in Jacob Bethell inching towards a breathtaking century. The visitors were in with a fair chance. By this time, the fully invested Wankhede crowd was well aware they needed to give a helping hand. A jam-packed stadium including glitterati from sport and entertainment to political heavyweights, but more importantly cricket regulars, began lifting India’s bowling talisman.

Bumrah handed his cap to the umpire in a business-as-usual manner and set out to complete the task: win India the match.