ICC World Cup 2019 | Jasprit Bumrah one of the best both at beginning and death, says Bharat Arun
Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun stated that Bumrah is a dream bowler to have for the team and that he and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have done an excellent job to execute their bowling plans so far. He went on to explain the strategy versus Australia and the conditions prevailing in England in brief.
After a strong overall performance saw India come away with a comfortable 36-run win in the end against Australia, Bharat Arun was more than just impressed with the teamâs bowling performance. Having set a good target of 353, the Indian bowlers never let the batsmen settle and kept picking wickets at regular intervals to restrict them to 316 at the end of 50 overs.
This was a second consecutive good performance by the bowling unit, after having also managed to restrict South Africa to a subpar 227/9 in their first match of the tournament. The standout performers so far, have been the two new ball bowlers, world number one Jasprit Bumrah and his accomplice Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Between them, the pair already has 10 wickets in 2 matches.
Bumrah has been especially impressive with his disciplined line and length along with the movement in the opening spell a sight for sore eyes before he follows it up with an intelligent mix of yorkers and slower deliveries in the death. And Arun echoed the same.
âItâs a dream to have a bowler like him (Bumrah). He is one of the best in the world both at the beginning of an innings and at the death. My job is to remind him and Bhuvi about their plans and also about what they have done well in the past,â said Bharat Arun speaking in the ICC mixed media zone on Saturday.
âIn England, the ball moves around. You have to assess the conditions and then you can launch your plans,â he added.
Mohammed Shami is the other specialist fast bowler that has travelled with the squad to England, although his services have not yet been availed in the tournament. However, it is almost certain that sooner or later he will have a role to play in Indiaâs campaign in the quadrennial tournament that has nine matches before the knockout stages.
âIt was always our plan to open the bowling with Bumrah and Bhuvi. [As for Shami,] you have to wait for your chance and be ready to grab the opportunities when they come,â said Arun.
The brilliant bowling in the opening overs saw David Warner crawl to one of his slowest fifties ever in the format, while disciplined wicket to wicket bowling meant Australia could never accelerate according to the required run rate.
âWe had plans about not giving the batsmen any width and also to take the pace off the ball and I thought we executed them well. It was a conscious plan to bowl short to David Warner and he wasnât very comfortable with it,â revealed Arun.