The Indian Cricket Team head into the next phase of the ODI World Cup 2023 with a huge spring in their strides. Rohit Sharma has seen his team win four games in a row to be placed at number two in the table. One of the biggest reasons behind this is the tireless services of Jasprit Bumrah the mercurial Indian bowling spearhead.
The 29-year-old made it back to cricket just in time before the start of the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. Jasprit Bumrah had nearly missed an entire year due to the injury he suffered in 2022.
The Indian team bowling unit wore a different look without Jasprit Bumrah as his absence was felt massively. The Indian team’s loss in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final to England by ten wickets exposed the major chink in Indian armor. With the return of Bumrah, the Indian heaved a sigh of relief and also won the 2023 Asia Cup title. Here are the three reasons why Jasprit Bumrah is the most consistent bowler of the current ODI World Cup.
Lethal with the new ball –
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj have been India’s new-ball pairing in the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. While the form of Siraj has been inconsistent, it is Jasprit Bumrah who has been impressive with the new ball.
In the first game versus Australia in Chennai, the 29-year-old struck by getting the wicket of Mitchell Marsh early. Bumrah doesn’t just extract bounce off placid tracks but also has the ability to swing the ball. This was best exhibited with his away moment to induce the edge of Ibrahim Zadran to dismiss him for 22.
Master Partnership break in the middle overs –
Rohit Sharma has used Jasprit Bumrah like a musical conductor does with his bandmates. The Indian skipper gives 3-4 early overs to Bumrah before getting Hardik Pandya or Shardul Thakur into the attack. It is in the middle-overs that Jasprit gets a re-call where he shows his tricks.
A very good example is the game against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. Mohammad Rizwan was batting well and the hopes of his team lay on his shoulders. Jasprit Bumrah put paid to the hopes with a brilliant ball to get rid of Rizwan for 49. He followed this with an outstanding ball to get the wicket of Shadab Khan, who is known to be handy with the bat.
The best death-overs specialist in the world –
There is no doubt when it comes to Bumrah’s ability to bowl in the death overs. The 29-year-old has the ability to bowl slow as well as deliver pin-point Yorkers. Against Afghanistan, the main difference maker was Jasprit Bumrah. The right-arm pacer got the key wickets of Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, and Rashid Khan.
In the game against Bangladesh, Bumrah was economical getting 2 wickets for 42 runs. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah bought fell to Bumrah at a time they were looking dangerous. Those two wickets was the biggest difference between Bangladesh scoring 256/9 or scoring above 300 runs on the board.