Jasprit Bumrah has been unstoppable since making his India comeback from injury, and on Wednesday, the premier pacer enhanced his reputation further by registering his best-ever bowling figures in the World Cup. Against Afghanistan, Bumrah finished with 4/39, bettering his previous best World Cup figures of 4/55 against Bangladesh at Southampton in the 2019 edition at Southampton. Bumrah's figures in Delhi played a pivotal role in India limiting Afghanistan to 272/8, when at one stage they looked certain to reach 300.
Bumrah was menacing with both the new ball and old. He gave away just five runs in his first three overs and after getting hit for his first boundary of the day, Bumrah roared back in style dismissing Ibrahim Zadran out caught behind with a beautiful outswinger. Bumrah's second spell remained impressively economical, despite him failing to secure any wickets. However, it was in his final spell that Bumrah unleashed chaos upon the Afghan batters, claiming the crucial wickets of three powerful hitters.
Bumrah's menacing bowling evoked a sizzling reaction from former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who couldn't help but marvel at the pacer's brilliance. Describing him as a 'phenomenal' bowler, Gambhir firmly believes that Bumrah possesses a unique quality that sets him apart from all others. This exceptional attribute transforms him into an indispensable X-factor for any team he represents, be it India, the Mumbai Indians, or any other franchise. It doesn't matter which team you put him in; Bumrah will consistently shine.
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"He is just a phenomenal performer. He is just a phenomenal and world-class bowler. I have always said this and will maintain that whichever team Jasprit Bumrah plays for, he has got to be your X-factor, whether it's in Chennai, or Delhi, whether he bowls with the new ball or old, I haven’t seen a lot of cricketers in this World Cup who can bowl at any stage of the game and have the same impact. Some bowl well with the new ball, some ball well in the death, but Bumrah is one who can bowl brilliantly everywhere," Gambhir said during the mid-innings interval.
{{/usCountry}}"He is just a phenomenal performer. He is just a phenomenal and world-class bowler. I have always said this and will maintain that whichever team Jasprit Bumrah plays for, he has got to be your X-factor, whether it's in Chennai, or Delhi, whether he bowls with the new ball or old, I haven’t seen a lot of cricketers in this World Cup who can bowl at any stage of the game and have the same impact. Some bowl well with the new ball, some ball well in the death, but Bumrah is one who can bowl brilliantly everywhere," Gambhir said during the mid-innings interval.
{{/usCountry}}Bumrah may still be a long way down in the list of Indian bowlers with the best World Cup figures, but today's performance is a sign of bigger things to come. He triggered a mini Afghanistan collapse by removing both Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi in the same over - the 44th of the innings. Bumrah then swiftly followed it up by dismissing the dangerous Rashid Khan in his next and final over, ultimately containing Afghanistan to a score of under 280.
"It's not many times that a captain goes to a fast bowler for a breakthrough. He either turns to a finger or wrist spinner, so that just shows the quality of this bowler. He got India back on track because at one stage, it was looking as if Afghanistan might just get to 300 and that would have been a challenging total. And the reason it didn't happen because Bumrah got Nabi out. He was looking dangerous. Like I said, he is just a very complete bowler," added Gambhir.