Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar reckons Jasprit Bumrah looked in great rhythm while bowling against Pakistan in the Super Fours match of the ongoing Asia Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Monday. Bumrah, playing after a long time in ODI cricket, showed why India was missing him so much when he was recovering from his back injury.
The ace paceman was right on the money against the arch-rivals from the get-go, breathing down the neck of Pakistan openers – Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq. The gun pacer got the ball to move across the left-handers and also got a few to move back into them, to keep them guessing.
Both the left-handers looked at sea while facing Bumrah. The 27-year-old accounted for Imam-ul-Haq when he got the ball to move away from the southpaw while bowling from around the wicket angle.
Bumrah returned with impressive figures of 1-18 in the five overs he bowled and his return is a massive boost for the team. Furthermore, KL Rahul, making a return to the squad after a long time, scored a fantastic knock of 111 runs.
“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 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,” said Gavaskar on Sports Tak.
“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,” said Gavaskar.
Meanwhile, the Little Master expects Pakistan to come back stronger against Sri Lanka after the Men in Green suffered an ignominious loss against India.
“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,” Gavaskar added.
India will take on Sri Lanka on Tuesday in their second Super Fours stage match.
