“It is just poetry….”: Aaron Finch lauds Jasprit Bumrah’s swing bowling

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch on Tuesday lauded Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for his swing bowling, calling it “poetry”.

India will take on New Zealand in the first semifinal of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday. While Kiwis will be aiming to reach their third successive World Cup final after 2015 and 2019, India will be looking forward to overcoming the knockout hurdle that has not let them win a major ICC title since 2013 and that too against a team that has given them the most trouble in must-win matches.

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, Finch spoke on Bumrah’s ability to swing the ball in to the left-hander, he said “Yeah, of all the quick out there, and Bumrah in particular, his ability to swing it back into the left-hander is so crucial because then you cannot just worry about the ball going across and you might get a little bit of width now and then.

You have to be on guard for the ball that swings back, particularly for two left-handers, Conway and Rachin in the top order.”

“Bumrah is beautiful to watch. It does not look like poetry when he is running up to the crease, but once he releases the ball, the seam position and angle to swing it back down the line against the left-hander is just poetry; it is unbelievable,” he concluded.

In nine matches, Bumrah has taken 17 wickets at an average of 15.64 and a strike rate of 25.70, with the best bowling figures of 4/39. He is India’s highest wicket-taker in this World Cup so far and overall at number four.

Finch also spoke on how batter Daryl Mitchell will look to stay at the crease, he said “Yeah, you have to get him early. That is what India has been good at throughout this tournament, getting powerplay wickets and exposing middle orders against brand-new ball still. If Mitchell is able to bat till the 20th over, then he is able to play on his terms.”

In nine matches, Mitchell has scored 418 runs at an average of 59.71 and a strike rate of over 110. He has scored one century and two fifties, with the best score of 130. He is the ninth-highest run-scorer in the tournament and overall second-highest run-maker for Kiwis.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.