Jasprit Bumrah was the difference between the two teams as India defended 253 runs against England to win by just seven runs. In a match where 499 runs were scored in 40 overs, Bumrah conceded only 33 runs in his four overs. No doubt he will be key once again in the final but New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips is hoping that India's best bowler has an off day in the final on Sunday (March 8) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Having qualified for the final earlier, the Kiwis reached Ahmedabad on Thursday and had their first training session on Friday evening. Phillips spoke to the media after the nets, where he was expectedly asked about Bumrah's impact and he felt that New Zealand would have to cash in on rare poor deliveries offered by Bumrah. At the same time, he also acknowledged the fact the fast bowler is absolutely world-class and can nail his yorkers at the death.
"Bumrah is a fantastic bowler. He's got so many variations. He hits the blockhole at the death incredibly well. You know, and he's human as well. He is allowed to have a bad day, as are the rest of us. So hopefully we have a good day against him," Phillips said.
Phillips analyses England's plan to tackle Bumrah
New Zealand would've closely watched the semifinal clash between India and England. For the same reason, Phillips was able to analyse England's approach against Bumrah in the knockout clash. He reckoned that Harry Brook and his men opted to play out Bumrah's overs in the mammoth run-chase.
"The way England played him yesterday, in terms of trying to take on the last two overs, and give themselves as much of a chance as possible. That was the tactic that they'd employed. It's not necessarily going to be that, per se. As I said, a bowler is allowed to miss, and if he happens to miss, we do have to put it away. That also means that if he does bowl well, we do have to, I guess, accommodate for other things and adapt," the New Zealand cricketer added.
