India’s fast bowlers are like a lifeline and they must be used when they are really needed but in the final it seemed too late.
Siddharth Monga
Flower: “Rohit’s game of cat and mouse is hilarious.”
Andy Flower talks about Jasprit Bumrah’s key delivery and how Rohit Sharma outmaneuvered the bowlers towards the end of the match.
About 20 minutes before the toss, after measuring his run-up and bending over to mark with white paint, Jasprit Bumrah felt a tap on his back. He turned and saw his wife, Sanjana Ganesan, also a media worker, who had been shadowboxing for the cameras with South African television presenter Crystal Arnold just minutes before.
She is probably wishing Bumrah good luck. He puts down the paint bucket, hugs her and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. What final kiss of luck is needed for the consummate fast bowler who is still waiting for a world title despite three finals and semi-finals in all formats? This is his fourth. With the skill, discipline and brains that Bumrah has, he needs very little luck, but perhaps his team does. Just a little at the crucial moments. Leave the rest to Bumrah.
They are called “the chokers” because they have made it to the knockouts in five of the last six World Cups but have never won. This is their sixth of seven. They will be playing another team also known as a “choker.”
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Quinton de Kock smashed the last ball of Kuldeep Yadav’s eighth over into the stands. Kuldeep and Bumrah were the only ones who got India a par score – anything less would have been good enough. After a World Cup of gutsy cricket, India suddenly abandoned their methods in the final. From the sixth to the thirteenth over, there were just three boundary attempts, none by Virat Kohli.
South Africa seem to be in control of the match, scoring 48 in the last five overs, with no wickets threatening and momentum on their side. The pitch lacks grip and the volunteers are searching for the ball that de Kock has lost. The cameras don’t capture it, but Bumrah goes up to Kuldeep and says he’s probably OK, that one day or one over won’t make him a bad bowler, and they high-five. Kuldeep has shown before that he has a tendency to be too hard on himself. You’ve got us this far. Let’s do our best. Leave the rest to me.
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De Kock played his favourite pick-up pull shot against Arshdeep Singh because there was no great foot there. On the next ball he tried it again but this time there was great foot there. It was Kuldeep. It was a safe enough catch. All eyes were on Arshdeep, standing on the pitch with his arms held high. But Bumrah ran towards Rishabh Pant, pointing with his finger. It was like, ‘I told you so’. Pant acknowledged him.
Despite not having the ball, Bumrah is in good form.
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With the ball, you have to use Bumrah judiciously. He is like the lifeblood of the game show. After the power play, use his overs only when absolutely necessary. Don’t use every over like against England. Sometimes you might keep an over just to make the target look 10 runs bigger. If Marco Jansen is your opponent at No. 7, you can hold him back until it’s too late.
From the fifth to the 14th, South Africa have hit at least one boundary in every over, the ball is going well, Heinrich Klaassen and David Miller are in good form, and Rohit Sharma, needing just nine runs per over in the last six overs with six wickets remaining, is still not catching a lifeline, perhaps because he knows he can use Bumrah to smash through when a wicket falls.
But Klaassen got in on Akshar Patel’s final over. Akshar was a great choice as India already had one left-arm all-rounder spinner. Akshar has been Rohit’s go-to man during this World Cup. He is promoted when wickets fall early and often bowls first in the powerplay. Even in the final, Kohli batted like he always does, as he made 47 runs off 31 runs. But his closing was not good, as he was run out sleepily for 24 runs in the last over.
Now that he’s past 30, it seems too late even for Bumrah to do anything. Will there ever be a time when something can be done?
First ball: An inside edge that nearly takes a wicket. Second ball: Klaassen gets two and reaches the fastest fifty in a World Cup final in just 23 balls. Then Bumrah powers it onto the pads and yorks it. Rohit says reverse. Bumrah reverses. A lifeline, a lifeline. But South Africa only need 26 in the five overs.
Miller was a huge wicket when Hardik Pandya took an outside edge off a wide slow ball, backing Klaassen out and Jansen batted the over. Bumrah came round the wicket in the 18th over, the seam rising and the ball sloping inwards, too slow for Miller to do anything about. Everyone thought he’d been bowled out but the expected flash bail never appeared. He missed just slightly. Miller survived.
Against Afghanistan, here, Bumrah started his day by getting Rahmanullah Gurbaz out with a slow ball at the start of the second over. He’s not bowling slow here. He just knows what to do. He just doesn’t have the luck to take a wicket that could decide this. But he carries on bowling and gets past Jansen to potentially turn things around. He can only hit three from the over and the others have to defend 10 runs in two overs. 30 off 30, back sooner than usual. Is it too late for Bumrah?
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It’s all over. Unfortunately, Bumrah is not man of the match. But India has the trophy. At last. For the first time since 2011. Their team shows the quality they’ve always known it to have. But there’s no denying Bumrah’s other award: With 15 wickets at 8.26 per over and just 4.17 wickets per over, Bumrah is man of the tournament. While many congratulated him and were interviewed, Bumrah stood silently with his wife and baby and stayed there for a while before his wife hurried off.
Sanajina still has work to do. Jaspuri’s work is done.
At this point.
Siddharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo.