New York: India captain Rohit Sharma has termed Jasprit Bumrah as a genius and wants his lethal weapon to perform at the same level for the entire duration of the T20 World Cup.
Bumrah was magnificent in India's six-run victory over Pakistan in which he had figures of 3/14 in four overs which included an astounding 15 dot balls while defending a paltry total of 119 on Sunday.
"He is going from strength to strength (Bumrah). We all know what he can do. Not going to talk too much about him. We want him to be in that mindset throughout the World Cup. He is a genius, we all know that," Rohit said, praising one of India's greatest fast bowlers.
Rohit said India had the belief that they would win the match because the pitch was not that conducive for batting.
"With a bowling line-up like that you feel confident to do the job. Halfway through the stage when they were batting, we got everyone together and said that if it can happen to us, it can happen to them."
The skipper, however, did admit that they should have batted better after being 89 for 3 at one stage.
"We didn't bat well enough. Halfway through our innings we were in a good position. We didn't put enough partnership there and fell short with the bat," Rohit said about losing 7 wickets for 28 runs.
"We spoke about every run matter on a pitch like that. There was enough on the pitch. It was a good wicket to be honest, compared to the last game. Little contribution from everyone can make a huge difference," he said. Bumrah, who has now won back-to-back man of the match awards, felt that the pitch was slightly easier for batting in the second half as sun came out.
But he said the entire bowling unit was very disciplined in its effort.
"It feels really good. We felt we were a little under and the wicket got a little better after the sun came out. We were really disciplined so it feels good," he said.
Since it was a two-paced wicket, the idea was to hit the seam and get some lateral movement, said Bumrah.
"Tried to hit the seam as much as I could, tried to be as clear as I could with my execution and it all came out well so I felt happy," he said.
Both Rohit and Bumrah acknowledged the vociferous support that they had received at the Nassau Cricket County Ground.
"Felt like we were playing in India, really happy with the support and that gives us energy on the field. We focus on the now. We've played two games and played really well. You stick to your processes and look to play well," he said.
Dot balls cost us the match
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam felt that the 59 dot balls which they conceded during their chase became the turning point.
"We bowled well. In the batting, we lost back-to-back wickets and consumed too many dot balls. Again, we weren't up to the mark in the first six," he said.
Asked about the strategy, Babar said it was about playing normal cricket.
"Tactics were simple to play normally. Just strike rotation and the odd boundary. But in that period, we had too many dot balls. Can't expect much from tail-enders."
Babar had a contrarian view on the surface unlike many who felt the ball wasn't coming onto the bat.
"Pitch looked decent. The ball was coming on nicely. It was a little bit slow, and some balls had extra bounce," he said.
Pakistan will have to win against Canada and Ireland by big margins and hope that USA don't beat one among Ireland or India to enter the Super Eight stage.
"Have to win the last two matches. Will sit and discuss our mistakes but looking forward to the last two matches," he said.
—PTI