Jasprit Bumrah insisted it was a case of practice makes perfect as he secured India’s place in the World Cup semi-finals.
India booked their last-four spot with a 28-run victory over Bangladesh at Edgbaston, a result which ended their Asian neighbours’ hopes of making the semi-finals.
But Bangladesh were still in with a shout of a shock win until Bumrah – whose four victims were all clean bowled – shrugged off a damaged shoulder to wrap up victory with two perfect yorkers.
“It’s (down to) a lot of preparation,” said Bumrah, who had injured his shoulder and spent time off the field after attempting to save runs on the boundary.
“Whenever I practice in the nets, I practice each and every situation. Be it with the new ball, be it with the old ball, bowling at the death.
“So if I’ve ticked all of the boxes in the nets, and in the match it’s all about execution and keeping a clear head.
“If the work ethic is good, I think the execution feels much more easier in the game.”
India reached 314-9 on the same pitch that England had beaten them on only two days earlier to administer a first defeat in the competition.
But it seemed as if it would be so much better for much of the innings, with Rohit Sharma (104) scoring his fourth hundred at this World Cup and sharing a tournament-best opening stand of 180 with KL Rahul (77).
“We thought that the wicket will get slower as the innings progresses,” said Bumrah, who was adamant he did not want to be rested for the final group game against Sri Lanka at Headingley on Saturday.
“So we thought that they’ll come hard with the new ball, which they were trying to do.
“Our main focus was to get the ball as old as soon as possible, so our spinner (Yuzvendra Chahal) and our slower balls would come into play.
“That was the plan and that could be the nature of the wickets going forward.
“The summer is coming now, so the wickets could get drier. It was good practice for us.”
