All-rounder Glenn Phillips says New Zealand will be ready to pounce if India’s bowling star Jasprit Bumrah falters in the T20 World Cup final.
The two teams meet in Ahmedabad on Sunday after India edged a spirited England in the second semi-final.
A brilliant 105 from Jacob Bethell on Thursday kept England in the hunt during a record chase of 254 before Bumrah delivered a near-perfect 18th over.
A succession of precise yorkers and length balls yielded just six runs and left England behind the required rate.
New Zealand, who thrashed the Proteas in the first semi-final, are chasing their maiden title in their second final appearance, and Phillips said the team are ready for Bumrah.
“He’s human as well,” Phillips told reporters. “He is allowed to have a bad day, as are the rest of us. So hopefully we have a good day against him.”
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Bumrah’s accuracy and ability to nail yorkers at the death have often choked opposition teams. Against England, his four overs returned figures of 1-33 in a match where 499 runs were scored in 40 overs.
However, he fared less well against the Kiwis in a five-match T20I series earlier this year.
India won the series 4-1 but Bumrah, who played in four matches, took just four wickets while conceding 9.46 runs an over.
Phillips acknowledged Bumrah’s class but said tactics against any bowler are never the same.
“Obviously we had a really good trip against him in the bilateral series as well, but he’s a class bowler,” Phillips said. “He’s got so many variations. He hits the blockhole at the death incredibly well.”
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Phillips also played down the possibility of simply seeing out Bumrah’s four overs and targeting the other bowlers.
“It’s not necessarily going to be that, per se,” he said. “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 if he does bowl well, we have to accommodate for other things and adapt.”
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Perennial underdogs New Zealand edged into the semi-finals on net run rate but stepped up a gear when Finn Allen’s 33-ball 100 dismantled favourites South Africa.
New Zealand chased down 169 in just 12.5 overs to claim a nine-wicket win and are now seeking a first World Cup title in either white-ball format.
Captain Mitchell Santner’s side will face a crowd of more than 100,000 at the Narendra Modi Stadium and a billion Indian viewers on TV, although that does not appear to worry the New Zealanders.
“For us, we just go out there and enjoy it,” said Phillips. “We have a great time as a group of guys, we go out there and do our best for our country and yes, obviously a packed crowd is fantastic.
“We play to entertain the people and whether they’re supporting us or India, it’s fantastic for cricket in general.”
– AFP
Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images
