After India registered a 47-run victory against Afghanistan, left-arm spinner Axar Patel hailed the Indian pacer called Jasprit Bumrah as a ‘world-class bowler’ and said the quality of bowlers Men in Blue have on its side they can get out of a tough situation.
After setting a target of 182 in Bridgetown, India’s bowlers did an excellent job of fully controlling the game, with the game being decided well before the final delivery in their Super 8 clash in the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
The ever-dependable, ever-impressive Bumrah put in another brilliant performance, taking 3/7 to deny Afghanistan any hope of edging in on the mark. He had previously won Player of the Match accolades against Ireland and Pakistan, and he must have been second on the list to receive that honour again.
Knowing that they can call on a superb bowler in peak wicket-taking form to turn the game around is a powerful card that India has in their pocket.
India won the match by 47 runs, with Rohit Sharma and others praising Bumrah’s performance. Axar bowled his first over after Bumrah came on, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz. When asked about studying the work of the famous pacer, the spinner in a post-match press conference stated that he was more concerned with what he could accomplish in the given situation.
“See, obviously Jasprit Bumrah is a world-class bowler, and you know that with the quality of bowlers we have on our side – we can get out of a tough situation. So, at that time you have to think about what you have, what is your strength, what are your weaknesses. So don’t think much about what the other bowler did, like you said in partnerships we should bowl like this. I was just thinking that on this wicket what works for me? Like, after 1-2 balls, I realised that if I change the pace and length, it is better on this wicket. That’s what I was doing,” Axar said in a post-match press conference.
“I was not thinking that he has bowled so well from the other end, I will have to do this and that. If I think that way, I am putting more pressure on myself. I was thinking about how I could give my best in this situation. That was my plan and I was bowling with that thinking,” he added.
Axar revealed that Mhambrey does not intervene much with Bumrah and his approach, as the Indian pacer continued his impressive success in the T20 World Cup 2024. Axar stated that Bumrah knows what to do and what not to do. The spinner said India bowling coach Paras does not interfere much with the pacer because he does not want to confuse Bumrah and the bowling coach simply encourages the pacer to carry out the plans he has.
“I don’t think anyone talks much about Bumrah’s bowling He has an idea of what to do and what not to do. So I think when it is going so well, I don’t think the bowling coach is giving so much input that there is some confusion in his mind. He just says that you are doing well, whatever thinking you are doing is also going well. So, I think, as much as I have seen, the bowling coach doesn’t interfere much. He says this during planning that whatever your mindset is, it is clear, so just execute your plans,” he added.
India selected four spinners for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, but pace has been the major component of their assault in the first stage of the tournament. Throughout the four group-stage games, India remained with its four seamers and two spinners. However, all of these games took place in the United States of America.
However, in their Super 8 match against Afghanistan in the Caribbean India tweaked their tried-and-true combo, bringing in left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav to replace pacer Mohammed Siraj in their playing XI.
Kuldeep, playing his first game of the tournament, made a significant impact with the figure of 2/32.
Axar opened up about the thought process of playing with other two left-arm spinners — Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav — and said the combination of the three of them is “very good.”
“I think the thought process, obviously the captain and coach will tell us what their thought process is. My thought process is, as a left-arm spinner, I know what my role is. I can bowl in the powerplay, middle or towards the last, in the 16th or 15th over. I know my role well. I can be called by the captain in any situation. My plan is to know what the team needs at that time. If I feel that I need to attack at this time, I need to take wickets, then I plan in that way what I can do. And if I feel that, like in Pakistan, when I came to bowl the 16th over, I felt that if I give less runs in this over, it will be very good for the team,” he added.
“So, basically according to the situation, I plan my bowling and as you said there are 3 left-arm spinners, so obviously the wickets here, I feel there is an advantage. There are 3 left-arm spinners out of which we have 2 finger spinners and 1 wrist spinner. I have played with all of them very well. I think the combination of the three of us is very good. We have a good team. We communicate well. Like whoever comes to bowl first, we communicate what is working and what is not. I think that is very important when you bowl as a bowling unit,”
The teams in the Super 8s stage have a short turnaround, with India playing Bangladesh in Antigua on June 22 and Afghanistan facing Australia in St Vincent on the same day. (ANI)
