Pace, accuracy make Bumrah a class act: Cummins
BENGALURU: When India set a paltry target of 127 for Australia in the first T20 in Visakhapatnam, there would have hardly been a soul who would have placed money on the game rolling on to the final over. In control for nearly most of the chase, the only time Australia ceded advantage was during the 19th over from Jasprit Bumrah.
Pat Cummins, who held nerve to guide Australia past the finish line, heaped praise on India’s death-overs specialist at the prematch press conference. “He’s obviously a class act. He does two of the basics well — he bowls fast and he bowls accurately. Anyone who does that in world cricket is very challenging to face. At this stage, he has got a good slower bowl, a good cricketing brain and he just executes his skill really well. He has done well for India in all three formats and he is one of the players to watch out for,” he said.
Cummins, who came in as No 8, stated he wasn’t under pressure despite 14 runs required off the last over. Owing to two dismissals off Bumrah’s last two balls in the 19th over, neither he nor Jhye Richardson had faced a delivery before the final over but struck seven off three balls each to see their side home.
“I was sitting pretty comfortable. Thought I didn’t have to bat. And then it got really tight. Sometimes when you need a big over, like 14, you become quite relaxed, the pressure’s off a bit. I knew that the outfield was really fast, so wanted to try and hit the ball on the ground. A couple came off our bats, which was good, and just ran hard and it worked.”
Cummins had also played a handy role with the ball, returning miserly figures of 4-0-19-1. Given that a rare series win is at stake, Cummins added Australia are prepared for an India fightback. “(A series win)… hasn’t happened for a while overseas, especially in India, which is so foreign to Australian conditions,” he said. “(Winning) against one of the best sides in the world would be a huge result for us,
he said.