[Watch] Jasprit Bumrah’s Brilliant Opening Spell Claims Two Early Wickets in IND vs AFG T20 World Cup

Jasprit Bumrah left a mark e­arly on for India in the T20 World Cup clash against Afghanistan in Barbados on Thursday June 20 nee­ding only two deliveries to make­ a breakthrough with the ball. In a swift move Bumrah de­alt with the dangerous Afghan opene­r Rahmanullah Gurbaz who managed to score 11 runs from just eight balls.

Gurbaz, who hammered a six and a four in the first over, appeared eager to play his shots and get Afghanistan off to a flying start. However, it was not to be, as Jasprit Bumrah demonstrated his talent by bowling a well-hidden slower delivery directly into the batter’s slot.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s eyes brightened up, but he didn’t seem to notice Bumrah’s variation since he was too early in his shot, and Rishabh Pant finished a routine caught-behind dismissal. Gurbaz was unhappy after his wicket, knowing he was in the zone. Here is a video of the dismissal:

Jasprit Bumrah returned for his second over in the latter half of the powerplay, dismissing the other opener, Hazratullah Zazai. The left-hander attempted to work a back-of-a-length slower delivery from the great pacer, but could only get a leading edge off the closed face of the bat.

Ravindra Jadeja enthusiastically accepted the catch at short covers. Here’s the video of the dismissal:

During the powerplay, Afghanistan also lost Ibrahim Zadran, who chipped a delivery from Axar Patel straight to Rohit Sharma at short covers.

Jasprit Bumrah’s early strikes leave Afghanistan a steep mountain to climb

Gurbaz remarkable­ feat of accumulating 167 runs in his initial four T20 World Cup innings signified a crucial juncture for Afghanistan paving the­ way for an ambitious pursuit of 182 runs. The pivotal role of his performance­ was evident as Jasprit Bumrah with his exce­ptional prowess disrupted Afghanistans progress by clinching two vital wicke­ts conceding merely five­ runs in his first two overs.

India’s spin trio of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja have each taken a wicket as Afghanistan are 91/5 at the time of writing, needing to double their score in six overs to win on a slow pitch.