CWC '23: 'Won't get a better bowler than Jasprit Bumrah' - Irfan Pathan in awe of India pacer

India beat Afghanistan by eight wickets in pursuit of 273 in match 9 of the ICC ODI World Cup2023 edition on Wednesday (Oct 11) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi. After losing the toss, India were asked to bowl first and rode on Jasprit Bumrah's 4 for 39, on a pitch akin for batters, as Afghanistan posted a healthy 272 for 8. The Afghans rode on their skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi's 80 andAzmatullah Omarzai (61) but could have scored much more, even more than 300, but Bumrah restricted the opposition with some stunning bowling and regular breakthroughs.

In reply, India completed the run-chase in a jiffy courtesy of Rohit Sharma's sublime 131 and Virat Kohli's 55 not out. Rohit ended as the Player-of-the-Match for his berserk knock, coming off 84 balls, but many also lauded Bumrah for his stellar show with the ball.

After the match, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, speaking to Star Sports, said, "You won't get a better bowler than him in the entire world. If you focus on his action, you will come to know how he uses his variations. He first sets up the batters with inswing, creates a cluster, and then bowls outswing without any change in action and deceives the batters."

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"A bowler who bowls at 140 kph, inswing and outswing at one spot, bouncers, slower ones, yorkers, you won't get anywhere. The angle from which he bowls, his pitch map will be outside the off stump. The ball will come in from there and can go away as well," Irfan further pointed out.

Irfan added, "If you focus on his wrists and seam position, the seam position is towards fine leg when he bowls inswing and towards slip when he bowls outswing. There is no change in action, just the wrist's control and balance. This is praiseworthy bowling and it is impossible for the batter to pick it at a speed of 140 kph."

Bumrah ended with his best figures in an ODI World Cup match during the Afghanistan face-off in the national capital. Ever since his international comeback, following a lengthy injury layoff, he has been among wickets in every game and will like to continue in a similar manner going ahead in India's CWC 2023 campaign.

India will next face arch-rivals Pakistan in match 12 of CWC 2023 edition on Saturday (Oct 14) in Ahmedabad.

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