“We're not preparing any special for any special team” - Jasprit Bumrah on the challenge of facing Pakistan in 2023 World Cup
Team India’s lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah has stated that there will not be any special preparations for their marquee clash against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14. He added that the team will focus on their strengths instead of over-thinking about the opposition.
The last time India and Pakistan clashed during the World Cup (T20) in Melbourne in 2022, the match went down to the wire, with the Men in Blue winning off the last ball. Both the Asian sides will go into Saturday’s match high on confidence, having registered wins in their first two games. While India beat Australia and Afghanistan, Pakistan got the better of Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
Following India’s eight-wicket win over Afghanistan in Delhi, Bumrah was asked about how the Men in Blue would prepare for the mega clash against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Trying to downplay the hype, he commented:
“See, every team will have batsmen, every team will have bowlers. We also have batsmen; we also have bowlers. We're not preparing any special for any special team. Yes, we're looking at ourselves more than the others because we've realized that if we focus on our team, we focus on our strengths, everything else takes care of itself. So, we are focusing on our team, our preparation."
“If everything that is there in our control, we control that, that gives us the best chance. So that is what our team is focusing on,” he added.
Bumrah starred with the ball in the win over Afghanistan, registering figures of 4/39.
“We were not looking at net run rate” - Bumrah on thumping win over Afghanistan
After Bumrah’s four-fer restricted Afghanistan to 272/8, Team India raced past the total in 35 overs with eight wickets in hand. Skipper Rohit Sharma smashed 131 off 84 balls, clobbering 16 fours and five sixes.
Asked whether India consciously batted in an over-aggressive fashion, Bumrah replied that it wasn’t the case.
“No, no, not at all. We were not looking at net run rate from the beginning and we did not know that Rohit will give us such a head start. So, obviously I don't think there was any conversation this early in the tournament. But yeah, really happy with the way the game went and we finished it off early as well," he explained.
Rohit and Ishan Kishan (47 off 47) added 156 for the first wicket, while Virat Kohli (55* off 56) and Shreyas Iyer (25* off 23) added the finishing touches to the innings.