Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer said that Jasprit Bumrah going wicketless in the WTC 2021 final against New Zealand was a huge setback for India who lost the match by 8 wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah over the years has been one of the finest fast bowlers India has produced and is skipper Virat Kohli’s go-to bowler in all formats of the game. However, in the WTC final, Jasprit Bumrah failed to impress against New Zealand as he was the only Indian bowler who didn't bag a single wicket in the match.
The pacer was expensive at times in his spells but was unlucky at the same time as an important catch of Ross Taylor was dropped by Cheteshwar Pujara off his bowling in the second innings.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer said that it was disappointing to see no wickets from Jasprit Bumrah and added that the pacer didn’t bowl badly but him going wicketless was the big setback for Team India.
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“Mohammed Shami was the standout bowler for India alongside Ishant Sharma. Ashwin supported really well, but to see no wickets from Jasprit Bumrah was disappointing and it was a big setback for the Indian team. Even though I don't think Bumrah bowled badly, somewhere I thought the wickets column eluded him,” Wasim Jaffer said in his YouTube video.
Resuming the innings at 64/2 on the reserve day, Team India suffered yet another collapse in an important clash as they were bundled out for just 170 runs in the second innings, setting New Zealand a target of 139 runs, which Kane Williamson-led side chased with 8 wickets in hand.
Talking about the batting performance, Wasim Jaffer reproached the Indian team's intent in the second innings, saying a few more runs could have put more pressure on New Zealand.
"I was really disappointed by the way India batted in the second innings. They should have been a little bit more positive and should have shown more intent.
"Probably 40-50 runs would have saved the game or would have made the game more interesting had New Zealand gone on to chase the game with a bit more run rate. I thought 170 was a below-par score and the conditions of the first day probably played on their minds," he said.
