Masterful Bumrah back to his best

The great fast bowlers tend to evoke an ambience of anticipation. It begins when they are at the top of their mark and builds through their approach to the crease before reaching a crescendo in their delivery stride. 

The length of the run-up may vary – from Shoaib Akhtar's long and bustling run to Wasim Akram's economical approach -- but the rush of adrenaline that permeates the crowd through this exchange between the batter and the fast bowler makes for a compelling cricketing spectacle.

Jasprit Bumrah is able to enrich this experience every time he has the ball in hand. He begins with a few gentle strides, the ball initially occupying his left hand with the first two fingers of the right hand placed on its seam, before gathering pace and spearing the ball with that sui generis bowling action.

On Wednesday, Bumrah was able to enthrall the Kotla crowd with his show of skills, proving his primacy in India's pace pack once again.

The 29-year-old was the pick of all the Indian bowlers, taking 4/39 in 10 overs to ensure Afghanistan were restricted to 272/8 despite an excellent 121-run stand between Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai. Repetition is boring, but it is also non-negotiable to succeed at the international level. If you are a pacer entrusted with the new ball, you really have to find a spot on a good length and hit it with mundane precision.

That's exactly what Bumrah did in his opening spell on Wednesday. There wasn't any extravagant swing or seam movement, so what was required was pinpoint accuracy and unrelenting patience. Bumrah displayed these virtues in abundance, and he was rewarded with the scalp of opener Ibrahim Zadran in the seventh over of the innings. More than any sideways assistance, the length pinned Zadran to the crease, inducing a regulation nick that wicketkeeper KL Rahul held onto.

In contrast to Mohammed Siraj who leaked 28 runs in his first four overs, Bumrah's first spell read 4-0-9-1. Bumrah, 29, had exerted the same control in the opening game against Australia in Chennai, the wicket of Mitchell Marsh setting the tone for India's bowling effort.

When Sharma was looking for a solution to Shahidi and Omarzai's growing stand here, he went back to Bumrah. He couldn't quite find the breakthrough in the middle phase, but his three overs only cost 12 runs. By the time Bumrah was brought back, Afghanistan had moved to 229/5 in 44 overs, still eyeing a strong finish that can push them close to 300. But Bumrah was up to his old tricks in the slog overs with a dazzling mix of deadly yorkers, well-disguised slower balls and vicious bouncers.

Off just the second ball of his final spell, Bumrah hoodwinked Najibullah Zadran with a slower ball that was miscued to Virat Kohli at deep cover point. In the very same over, he had Mohammad Nabi leg-before, again resorting to that back of a length area to his advantage. When Rashid Khan, armed with a hitting range that can access all areas of the field, made room to cut a short ball towards backward point, he was also outfoxed. The shot selection wasn't incorrect, but he had been undone by Bumrah's decision to bowl a slower bouncer.

On a day when Siraj endured a poor outing – rare by recent standards – Bumrah's performance was befitting a spearhead. It was also an assuring reinforcement of Bumrah not having lost an iota of his ability since returning from a career-threatening back injury.

In ODIs this year, he now has 14 wickets in eight games at an economy of 4.71 and a strike rate of 24.4, entirely in sync with his career numbers. At the Asia Cup, his comeback ODI tournament, Bumrah was actually looking shrewder than ever with the new ball. In Colombo where the conditions were certainly amenable to swing, Bumrah was getting the ball to jag either way at will, his seam position perfectly canted to first slip for the outswinger against right-handers and to fine leg for the inswinger.

Barring perhaps Dharamsala's HPCA Stadium, he may not enjoy the same degree of assistance in any of the World Cup venues. What you can guarantee though is the sense of anticipation that will accompany his bowling every time.