India took an unassailable lead in the five-match T20 series against New Zealand by winning the third game in Hamilton after a super over thriller.
While the spotlight was on the superb 20th over bowled by Mohammed Shami and the successive sixes hit by Rohit Sharma off the final two balls that secured victory, the performance of pace ace Jasprit Bumrah stuck out like a sore thumb.
Bumrah went for 45 runs from his four overs and in the super over, which he was surprisingly handed, he was blasted for 17 runs. It was Bumrah's worst bowling performance in a T20 Internationals in four years – he conceded 40 runs or more on three occasions in 2016 – and his second most expensive bowling figures ever.
But if we add his super over stats – which are not part of international record – to his match stats, it turns into one of the worst performances ever by Bumrah in white-ball cricket.
Safe to say, it was all down to one man – Kane Williamson. The Kiwi captain found a way to negate the threat of Bumrah, who was also struggling for control. Bumrah missed his yorkers by a long way on a consistent basis on Tuesday and Williamson made him pay for it.
In the 17th over of the chase, Williamson smashed Bumrah for three successive fours to all but end the contest just as pressure was mounting. Then in the super over, Bumrah was hit for a six over fine leg and a four over covers off successive balls by the hosts' captain.
Throughout his five overs, Bumrah – who has mastered the art of bowling pin-point yorkers almost at will – bowled numerous full tosses and lost his radar by the end of the match.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag said it was a mistake to give the super over to Bumrah as he was having a bad day. Remember, he has just returned from a serious back injury and that too sooner than expected.
Williamson routinely walked to the off side to flick Bumrah over the leg side, something that would not have been possible if the Indian pacer was at his best.
The onus is now on Bumrah to get his act together in the fourth T20 in Wellington on Friday, now that the series is in the bag. Expect a bit more pace and venom in his bowling.
