Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has warmed up well for the big clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Bumrah picked up his best figures in a ODI World Cup match, claiming 4/39 against Afghanistan in India’s second match of the World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The India vs Pakistan match in Ahmedabad will be ‘homecoming’ of sorts for Bumrah, who turns out for Gujarat in first-class and whose mother still lives in the city.
“Yeah, obviously I’ve been away for a while now. I’ll be happy to see my mother at home. I’m going to see her. That’s the first basic thing for me. It’s obviously playing at home. I have not played a one day international there. I played a Test match. So yeah, the atmosphere is going to be exciting. I’m sure a lot of people are going to come. So, it will be a sight to see. So yeah, hoping for the best over there,” Bumrah said in the post-match press conference in Delhi on Wednesday.
In his ODI career till date, Bumrah has picked up 135 wickets in 80 ODIs at an excellent average of 23.8. After India’s amazing win over Afghanistan, which Rohit Sharma’s side won with 15 overs of spare, the hosts have shot up to 2nd position in the World Cup 2023 Points Table with 4 points from 2 match and a NRR of +1.500. Their next opponents are in 3rd place with 4 points as well but an NRR of +0.927.
Asked about the threat posed by the Pakistan team which features the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Babar Azam, Bumrah said, “See every team will have batsmen, every team will have bowlers. We also have batsmen; we also have bowlers. We’re not preparing any special for any special team. Yes, we’re looking at ourselves more than the others because we’ve realized that if we focus on our team, we focus on our strengths everything else takes care of itself. So we are focusing on our team, our preparation. If everything that is there in our control, we control that, that gives us the best chance. So that is what our team is focusing on.”
Bumrah didn’t specify if he preferred to bowl on seaming tracks or placid batting wickets while bowling. “I am not result oriented. Just because I have taken four wickets, that doesn’t mean that I am very, very happy or I have done something extraordinary. I just go with my preparation. I go with the process that I feel is right. I try to read the wickets and try to find the best answers that work on that wicket.
“As simple as that, not thinking about the results because I’ve got results today. I’m very, very good, that doesn’t work in my book. I try to back my strengths, try to read the wicket, and try to give my best,” Bumrah added.
Bureau Report
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