Mumbai, March 6
Former South Africa player Faf du Plessis heaped praise on ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah after the bowler's heroics helped Team India secure a seven-run win over England in the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal on Thursday at Mumbai's Wankhede. Du Plessis said having Bumrah in your team is "like having a genie."
In the semifinal clash, India posted a daunting 253-7 while batting first with help of Sanju Samson's 42-ball 89. However, England, courtesy of Jacob Bethell's century, were in the hunt for India's target for most of the match.
With England appearing to be on course for victory, the match's turning point came when Jasprit Bumrah delivered a brilliant 18th over, conceding just six runs while England needed 45 from the final three overs at the start of it. Following his effort, Hardik Pandya further tightened the pressure with an excellent penultimate over, giving away only nine runs and dismissing Sam Curran. India eventually managed to restrict England to 246/7, winning the match by a slim seven-run margin.
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show, the former Proteas cricketer said India are fortunate to have Bumrah, praising his ability to win matches in any format and calling him a dream asset for any captain.
"Team India don't understand how lucky they are to have him [Bumrah] in their ranks. It is just proven time and time and time again, regardless of the format, you just give him the ball and he wins you games. It's a superpower that any captain will dream of; it's like having a genie, you just rub the lamp and out comes Bumrah," du Plessis said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show.
Du Plessis said Bumrah's variations make him difficult to face, noting that even when he misses his length, batters struggle to capitalise--something that would usually be punished against other bowlers.
"That last over [18th of the innings], they know it is going to be full, yorker or slower ball. That's generally what you will be getting. And he bowled two low full tosses in the over and both of those balls, Sam Curran was late on the ball. Any other bowler missing in length like that goes for six," du Plessis said.
"His [Bumrah's] action is so unique that you struggle to pick up how quickly the ball comes out of his wrist. It's a skill but it is also to do with the mystery of his action, almost like what [Lasith] Malinga did back in the day. The point of difference makes it really hard to line him up in terms of if he misses," du Plessis added further.
In the semifinal match, Bumrah ended with brilliant bowling figures of 1-33 in four overs in a match that saw 499 runs being scored across both innings.
- ANI
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