On personal front, it was a good outing for Jasprit Bumrah, as he claimed four wickets on return to international cricket after a month-long break. But it had a bitter-sweet ending as India lost the third one-dayer against the Windies the MCA Stadium here on Saturday.
He was happy with the fact how the Indian bowlers fared till the 35th over, but admitted that they did leak a few runs towards the end. “We bowled well as a unit. Till the 35th over, we were pretty good. Yes, we gave a bit of runs in the end, so may be, that could be the difference. But overall, the bowling performance was not bad. They played well,” Bumrah said.
Bumrah lauded the Windies batsmen and the way they lifted their game. “When they play good cricket, you have to appreciate that as well,” he said.
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Making a return after a long break, Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave away 70 runs from his 10 overs, but Bumrah defended the seasoned campaigner. “Bhuvi had a good start, but at times, things (go a bit off) towards the end. It happens. Bowling at the death is difficult. It is not like every bowler will have good days. You cannot differentiate. He gave a bit of runs in the end, but they batted well,” Bumrah said, heaping praises on Windies captain, Jason Holder, who played a knock of 32 at the end. “Jason Holder is also an all-rounder. He batted well down the order.”
“We bowled well till 35th-40th over. We gave away a bit of runs towards the end, but that’s the part of the game. In the position we bowled, there’s no guarantee of success. Somedays it will go well, someday it won’t. He (Bhuvi) was clear in his plans but the batsmen were in a better place. We will be better prepared when we bowl at the death,” Bumrah said.
With the series evenly poised, the next couple of games in Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram will be of great importance, and Bumrah said it is important to have smaller targets. “When I come into a game, I always think in the present. In all these positions, you don’t think of high scoring games, or the short boundaries or the flat wickets. Because if you focus on all those negatives, you can’t bowl.”
“So, what I try to do is focus on one ball at a time. Don’t look too far ahead or don’t go too back in the past. You can’t change the past, you can only control the present. That has always been my focus. You learn from days when things don’t go well and learn from the mistakes,” Bumrah pointed out.
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