Full text: Bumrah on India’s batting approach against NZ, Ashwin’s absence and fatigue concerns

Daryl Mitchell top-scored with 49 as New Zealand hammered India by eight wickets to register their first win of the Super 12 stage at the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.

Pace bowler Trent Boult and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi shared five wickets between them to restrict India to 110 for seven after the Kiwis decided to bowl first in Dubai.

Mitchell and skipper Kane Williamson, 33 not out, put on 72 runs for the second wicket as New Zealand romped home in 14.3 overs and hand India their second loss of the tournament in as many games.

India’s batting performance left a lot to be desired and gave the bowlers very little chance of reviving the situation.

Bumrah said tat the batsmen tried to provide some cushion of the bowlers with some extra runs but it didn’t quite work out.

Here’s the transcript of his post-match press conference:

Q. How do you explain your batting display? Conditions were obviously challenging. How do you eventually explain such a batting experience?

JASPRIT BUMRAH: I think as a batting unit what we were trying to do is that we know in the second innings dew does play a massive factor. We tried to give us some cushion.

We wanted to get extra runs that could give us an advantage in the second innings. I think in that process we played a lot of attacking shorts, attacking options. That didn’t come off today.

So I think that was the approach as a batting unit that was going on because in the second innings, batting does get easier. So we wanted to give that cushion to the bowlers. I think that was the thought process. I think in that thought process, I think there were a lot of attack issues.

Q. After a defeat like this, two defeats, how do you keep yourself balanced and stay strong?

JASPRIT BUMRAH: As a sportsman, you face a lot of days in cricket. Some days will be good and some days would be bad. What I try to do is not get very high when good days happen and not get very low when low days happen.

All of these things are always are part and parcel of a cricketer’s life. Try to stay in the moment, analyse what went wrong, what went well and try to move forward. That’s the only way that you can move forward in this game.

Q. Just now in the presentation, it was said that the batsmen weren’t brave enough starting the innings. And given the bowling attack, you’ve led this bowling attack for two years, and you have built this team out over and over again. So what kind of discussions do you have with the batsmen? They feel the pressure obviously that they need to give the cushion to you. So what kind of discussions do you have with the batsmen?

JASPRIT BUMRAH: We don’t have discussions. I’m not here trying to teach what the batsmen should do. But what we were focusing, as I told before as well, that we realised that once you lose the toss, the wicket changes in the second innings.

So obviously I felt that we wanted to give the cushion, and it was a discussion that we want to give the cushion to the bowlers. And that happened.

So in that, I think we went attacking a little early. And the longer boundaries actually came into play. They used their slower balls where they used the wicket quite well to their advantage and they made it difficult for our batters to play the big shots.

Because the singles were not there on the offer, so they were playing attacking shots. High-risk shots were always there. I think that was the summary of what happened today. And that’s for everyone to see.

Q. There’s been IPL, and after IPL the T20 World Cup, there’s a very short turnaround. So many matches inside the bubble. Do you think fatigue also creeps in when you are playing so many matches together and the duration, six months you’re out on the road, so does that have an effect back of the mind?

JASPRIT BUMRAH: Absolutely. Sometimes you need a break. You miss your family sometimes. You’ve been on the road for six months. So all of that sometimes play on the back of your mind. But when you’re on the field, you don’t think of all those things. You don’t control a lot of things, how the scheduling goes on or what tournament is played when.

So obviously staying in a bubble and staying away from your family for such a long period of time does play a role on the player’s mind as well.

But they also tried their best to make us feel comfortable. But this is the time which we’re living in right now. It’s a difficult time. There’s a pandemic going on. So we try to adapt. But sometimes bubble fatigue, mental fatigue also creeps in, that you’re doing the same thing again and again and again.

So it is the way it is, and you can’t control a lot of it here.

Q. Do you feel Ashwin’s experience could have made a difference?

JASPRIT BUMRAH: In hindsight, we could say a lot of things. In hindsight, we wish we could have scored a lot more runs, got a lot more wickets. But now looking at it, that obviously, he’s an experienced bowler. Obviously, he adds a lot of value to the bowling attack whenever he comes.

But in hindsight, it’s very difficult because as I told you, there’s dew in the second innings. When the ball doesn’t grip. So the options become very difficult, very rare and very little for the bowlers to the margin of error goes down.

In hindsight, you might say that, okay, might have made a difference but it’s too difficult to judge that right now.

Q. You spoke about getting those 20, 30 runs while batting first. But as a bowler, when opposition is also in the same position, is it easier for the batsmen to get those 20, 30 runs on these pitches, because these are mostly two-paced and stuff?

JASPRIT BUMRAH: It’s not very easy. But that is the challenge that you’ll have to take extra responsibility. That was the communication. Obviously, it’s difficult. That’s why everybody who was playing an evening game is choosing to bowl first, because there’s a massive difference. So we understand that. We knew that. And our batters did understand that they have to give the cushion if they’re batting first.

So they tried their best. Obviously, it didn’t come off today. But the communication was clear and everybody knew what the situation of the game is and where they’re heading.

Transcript courtesy: ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020 via Online Media Zone.