Indian World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar feels that comeback pacer Jasprit Bumrah looked at a very good rhythm against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super 4 game of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo. The 29-year-old was brilliant with the new ball displaying a high-quality pace of bowling on Monday.
Indian bowlers were hot to handle for the batters, as the Men in Blue displayed high-quality fast bowling with the new ball picking up wickets in the powerplay before Kuldeep Yadav took a 5-wicket haul against the arch-rivals as Pakistan were bowled out for 128 – their third-worst record against India, while the Indian top order batters putting on show to post a mammoth total of 356-2 at the end of 50 overs.
Speaking to Sports Tak’s Vikrant Gupta, Sunil Gavaskar was happy with the result of the game between India and Pakistan, as the victory over the Men in Green gives a high chance of India qualifying for the final of the continental event and believes that Pakistan will put their this bad performance behind to come up well against Sri Lanka in their final Super 4 game of the Asia Cup 2023.
“If the game against Pakistan would’ve been washed out, there would have been doubts over India being able to reach the final. It was an all-round performance from India and they registered a fantastic victory against Pakistan. India completely dominated Pakistan.
“If you’re a good cricket team then the past results don’t matter so much. You think about the games to come. If you keep thinking about the previous match then you won’t be able to concentrate on the coming matches. I don’t think Pakistan will make this mistake and will play well against Sri Lanka,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are at risk of being ruled out of the 2023 Asia Cup after they sustained injuries during their Super 4 match against India and the fast bowlers could be crucial miss for the Men In Green going into the final game on Thursday.
I Hope They Continue This Rhythm In The Asia Cup And The World Cup – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar praised Indian wicket-keeper KL Rahul for making a century while also keeping the wickets in the match. He was also pleased with Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling and believes that the Indian squad is nearly prepared for the ODI World Cup in India.
“KL Rahul didn’t just score a century but he kept the wickets as well, setting aside all concerns regarding his fitness. Jasprit Bumrah was also in a great rhythm. He was running in and swinging the ball both ways was some great bowling.
“Even a world-class batter like Babar Azam could not determine where the ball was going. This Indian team is ready and I hope they continue this rhythm in the Asia Cup and the World Cup,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
The Men in Blue would look to continue their winning run in the game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Colombo, to qualify for the final of the Continental event in the Island nations.