When Jasprit Bumrah floored Pakistan

The world's best fast bowler fashioned India's wins in their last two WC matches, across formats, against the arch-rivals. Pakistan will be relieved that the magical Bumrah is missing this time around
It was October 14, 2023, the much-hyped World Cup group match between India and Pakistan at a supercharged Ahmedabad stadium. Having frittered away a decent start, Pakistan were 168/5 in the 34th over. Looking shaky, the visitors were banking heavily on their star 'keeper-bat Mohammed Rizwan, who was batting on a fluent 49, to take them to a decent total.
That was when Jasprit Bumrah, with a packed house of 120,000 spectators cheering for him, ran in to bowl to Rizwan. Unleashing a slow off-cutter, Bumrah left a clueless Rizwan's stumps in a mess. The massive crowd roared 'Boom, Boom, Bumrah'! The atmosphere was electric. In one fell swoop, Bumrah had outwitted Pakistan's batting mainstay.
Next over, Bumrah made things worse for Pakistan, uprooting Shadab Khan's off-stump with one that straightened. Tottering at 171/7 in the 36th over after Bumrah's strikes, Pakistan folded for 191 by the 43rd over. They went on to lose the match by 7 wickets.
Cut to the next India-Pakistan clash, this time in New York on June 9 in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Defending just 119, India looked in dire straits, with Pakistan having coasted to 26 by the fifth over. Again, in came Bumrah, and promptly got Pakistan captain Babar Azam to nick one outside off-stump to first slip. Babar didn't know whether to play or leave. India had tasted first blood.
However, Pakistan bounced back, and with Rizwan (31) once again holding fort, reached 80/3 in the 15th over. Now they were surely the favourites? That was when Rizwan committed the cardinal sin - he swung across the line, hoping to hit Bumrah out of the park. The delivery had moved back in and wasn't there for the shot. It was perhaps a little too full, and flattened Rizwan's stumps instead. India heaved a sigh of relief. Their pace talisman had delivered again.
Soon after, Bumrah got the dangerous Iftikhar Ahmed with a full toss, caught superbly by Arshdeep Singh running in from fine leg. The match had swung back India's way. Bumrah finished with figures of 3/14 off his four overs, justifiably bagging the 'Player of the Match' award.
With the difficult New York pitch making it almost impossible to play him, Bumrah had singlehandedly fashioned India's thrilling six-run triumph in a low-scoring encounter.
This time in Dubai, Pakistan will heave a sigh of relief that Bumrah is absent from India's lineup. Seeing his form in Australia, one wonders how the ace pacer would have fared had there been a full Test series played against Pakistan. A fit Bumrah's presence in the Champions Trophy would have surely made India formidable opponents.
Ex-India pacer Salil Ankola, who was a national selector till last year, believes Bumrah's no-show leaves the entire Champions Trophy - not just the Indian team - poorer.
"Why just the Indian team? The whole cricketing world will miss a world-class bowler like Jasprit Bumrah in the Champions Trophy," Ankola said.
"What he brings to the table is a totally different thing - magic. The angle at which he bowls, the whip of the wrist at the last minute makes it very difficult for the batter. Bumrah can extract nip off the surface even on a dead track where others might struggle. Even if there's only 10% help from the wicket, he can run through a side. For the last four-five years, we've depended heavily on him. Jasprit has always been our mainstay, our go-to man," added Ankola.
The 56-year-old was of the view that India could have managed Bumrah's workload better in Australia, ensuring that he stayed fit for the Champions Trophy. "If there was a fear over his breakdown, then his workload should've been managed better in Australia, where he bowled the most number of overs across both teams in the series. He has to be treated with care," Ankola said.