Jasprit Bumrah said that his side realizes that losing the toss in the ongoing tournament is a big disadvantage as the dew has been playing a big role in UAE. His comments came after suffering a defeat against New Zealand in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi starred with the ball before Daryl Mitchell smashed 49 off 35 to help New Zealand defeat India by eight wickets on Sunday in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Jasprit Bumrah: It Was Difficult For Indian Batsmen To Play Big Shots With Longer Boundaries And New Zealand Bowlers Bowling Slower Balls
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s remarks came in the post-match press conference after India’s comprehensive 8-wicket loss to the Kiwis in Dubai-their second successive defeat after a 10 wicket loss to Pakistan. After being put in to bat, Virat Kohli and Co. could only score a mere 110 runs in the first innings.
“As a sportsman, you face a lot of days in cricket. Some days will be good and some days would be bad. What I try to do is not get very high when good days happen and not get very low when low days happen. All of these things are always are part and parcel of a cricketer’s life.
“Try to stay in the moment, analyze what went wrong, what went well, and try to move forward. That’s the only way that you can move forward in this game,” said Jasprit Bumrah during a virtual post-match press conference.
“We don’t have discussions. I’m not here trying to teach what the batsmen should do. But what we were focusing, as I told before as well, that we realized that once you lose the toss, the wicket changes in the second innings,” he added.
India was just restricted to 110/7 in the allotted twenty overs against New Zealand. But, unfortunately, no batter was able to stay at the crease for a long haul, and a lackluster performance followed.
“So obviously I felt that we wanted to give the cushion, and it was a discussion that we want to give the cushion to the bowlers. And that happened. So in that, I think we went attacking a little early. And the longer boundaries actually came into play. They used their slower balls where they used the wicket quite well to their advantage and they made it difficult for our batters to play the big shots,” said Bumrah.
“Because the singles were not there on the offer, so they were playing attacking shots. High-risk shots were always there. I think that was the summary of what happened today. And that’s for everyone to see,” he added.
New Zealand produced a stunning bowling display as India batsmen struggled on the crease. The Indian batsmen Ishan Kishan (4 off 8 balls), Rohit Sharma (14 off 14 balls), KL Rahul (18 off 16), Virat Kohli (9 off 17), Rishabh Pant (12 off 19) failed when it mattered most.
India managed 110 for 7 in 20 overs, in which they didn’t effectively score runs in nine of those overs (54 dot balls). Worse, they were just able to hit a single boundary between overs 8 and 15 when two spinners, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, were in operation.
Jasprit Bumrah: Batsmen Tried Their Best To Give Bowlers Cushion To Defend, But It Didn’t Work
Jasprit Bumrah said India wanted to have extra runs, which made the side go on the field with an attacking mindset.
“It’s not very easy. But that is the challenge that you’ll have to take extra responsibility. That was the communication. Obviously, it’s difficult. That’s why everybody who was playing an evening game is choosing to bowl first, because there’s a massive difference. So we understand that. We knew that. And our batters did understand that they have to give the cushion if they’re batting first,” said Bumrah.
“So they tried their best. Obviously, it didn’t come off today. But the communication was clear and everybody knew what the situation of the game is and where they’re heading,” he added.
Jasprit Bumrah was also asked about his views on how India will recover from the mental setback of having suffered two back-to-back defeats that have almost knocked them out of the competition. He labelled it as “part and parcel” of an athlete’s life and advised his teammates to stay in the present and not let the bad days pull them down.
Virat Kohli’s side will now most likely need to beat remaining opponents Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia while hoping that other results and the net run rate equation go their way if they are to make it into the final four.