T20 World Cup: ‘Important for us to use him smartly’, Rohit on Bumrah after India’s win over Afghanistan

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma was all praise for Jasprit Bumrah after the pacer’s heroics helped the Men in Blue
dismiss Afghanistan for 134
as they looked to chase down a total of 182. After Suryakumar Yadav’s 53 led India to 181/8 from a precarious position, Bumrah starred with excellent figures of 3/7 to help India bundle out the Afghans.

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After picking one wicket against Bangladesh in the warm-up match, Bumrah registered figures of 2/6 against Ireland and that was followed by a spell of 3/14 against rivals Pakistan. The only time the 30 year-old did fail to take a wicket was against the United States of America (0/25).

The Gujarat cricketer first struck with the dismissal of Rahmanullah Gurbaz before striking once again in the powerplay to remove Hazratullah Zazai. Bumrah’s third victim was Najibullah Zadran, who was caught by Arshdeep Singh at short third.

Photo gallery |
India begin Super 8s with clinical victory over Afghanistan in Barbados

Rohit said that it was important to use Bumrah smartly. “We know what Bumrah can do for us. It is important for us to use him smartly. He is the one who is ready to take the responsibility as well. Wherever he plays, he is always ready to take the responsibility,” said 37 year-old.

India played three spinners on Thursday with Kuldeep Yadav coming into the side. Rohit said that the team management would not hesitate to make changes and that they would be open to playing with three seamers if necessary. “I got to assess the conditions. Looking at the opposition we are ready to make any changes. We thought three spinners would be good, we went for that. Going forward if needed, I am open to playing three seamers,” added the Nagpur-born cricketer.

Rohit lauded Suryakumar Yadav (53) and Hardik Pandya (32), whose 60-run stand led India to 181/8 after initial struggles. The veteran said that it was important for the duo to bat deep.

“We adapted well and got 180, which was a great effort from the batters. We had class bowlers who defended it perfectly. Everyone came in and did their job, that’s critical and we dwell on it. SKY and Hardik’s partnership was critical at that point, we needed someone to bat deep which they did,” commented Rohit.

“My bowling has been coming well”

Rashid Khan had a below-par IPL with Gujarat Titans as he came back from a back injury. He picked just 10 wickets this season, which is in stark contrast to the 2023 season where he had scalped 27 wickets. On Thursday, Rashid had figures of 3/26, that took his wickets tally in the T20 World Cup to nine wickets from five matches.

The Afghanistan skipper was pleased with his bowling as he felt that he was hitting the right areas consistently.

“My bowling has been coming out well, I struggled early in the IPL but am hitting the right areas consistently. but it’s the match result that matters most,” Rashid said after the match. He added that while Afghanistan were ready to chase down a target of 160-170, his team could have executed the chase a “bit smarter”. Afghanistan lost regular wickets in the chase and lacked a substantial partnership against India. “We knew we’d be chasing 160-170 given it was against a bigger team. We could’ve done it had we executed smarter,” added the 25 year-old.

Player of the match Suryakumar Yadav credited his hard work and practice for reasons behind his productive knock. SKY had also scored a fifty against USA in the group stage. “Lot of hard work and practice has gone behind this. Lot of routine and process. I’m very clear about what to do when I go out. I don’t mind giving this POTM award to a bowler as well. First for a batter, hope first of many. When Rashid bowls it’s tough to get him away,” he said.

Suryakumar explained the intent behind taking India to 181/8 and explained how important was the partnership with Hardik Pandya. “I remember when Hardik came in, I told him not to leave too much at the end, when the ball gets old/reverses. Just wanted to push the pedal, see where we get to at 16 overs, and take it from there,” added the 33 year-old.

India will next lock horns against Bangladesh in Antigua on Saturday before travelling to St Lucia for their final Super 8 match against Australia on Monday.