Bumrah adds impressive World Cup debut to list of achievements

SOUTHAMPTON: Jasprit Bumrah added to his burgeoning reputation with a shocking opening spell, his first in a World Cup sport, in opposition to South Africa on Wednesday. As probably the most marquee stars of the mega tournament, all eyes had been on Bumrah and the lanky pacer responded to the problem in a in most cases precise yet menacing way.

WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

Bumrah used the helpful prerequisites on the Hampshire Bowl to great impact and had the two South African openers - Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock - back within the hut very quickly. India did not glance back from there.

Bumrah's meteoric upward thrust within the remaining two years, all the way through which he has graduated from being an excellent restricted overs bowler to being an impressive Test bowler, to being hailed because the "best" on the planet. His journey has been nothing short of dramatic and the World Cup debut display added yet some other chapter to his storied profession.

As one would expect, there were infrequently any nerves and no effort to overdo the rest from India's pace spearhead. "I was not thinking that it was my first World Cup game. I treated it like any other game and focused on what I always do. There was a little bit of help for me and when you have that you don't need to do too much," he said after the tournament.

Bumrah comes across as a thinking and intelligent younger man who hasn't let success cross to his head. When asked if he was once testing different pacemen on the World Cup and making an attempt to learn the rest from them, he said, "You can learn from any bowler in the world, be it a first-class bowler or an international one. I always keep myself open so that I can add things to my armoury."

In the post-match media interaction, skipper Virat Kohli was once effusive in his praise of Bumrah. "The way he's bowling right now, it's so good to see because you see batsmen literally clueless against him and he's rushing people."

Kohli pointed to Bumrah's dismissal of Hashim Amla on Wednesday as an example. "To be honest, I haven't seen Hashim get out like that in One-day cricket. He's been so dominant. He might play shots and get out, but to get guys out like that, rushing them a bit, I think it's a great thing and it's a testimony to Bumrah's hard work. He is very disciplined and is working really hard. He understands this is his time and he's making the most of it."

Asked the way it was once to face Bumrah within the nets, Kohli said, "One thing you know with facing Jasprit is you have to play good cricketing shots and you have to back your technique. Because if you are hesitant a little bit, he senses that and he's all over you. If he senses someone's not enjoying the short ball in the nets, he will make sure that guy gets it in that session. So what you see him bowling in the match, he bowls exactly like that to us in the nets. He doesn't care who is standing in front of him. He will bounce people, he will try to get people bowled, he will york people with the new ball and that's the reason for his consistency."

Virat added that it was once in a way just right for a batsman to face somebody like Bumrah within the nets as it will prepare him for tricky assessments in a tournament state of affairs. "For a batsman, it's beautiful to face a guy like that who bowls with match intensity. If you play well against him, you walk out with more confidence." Amla, who become Bumrah's first World Cup victim, acknowledged him as probably the most easiest on the planet. " If you look around, Bumrah and Rabada (Kagiso) are the two best bowlers in the world today - good pace, accuracy and they can bowl at all stages of a game."