Practice makes perfect for Bumrah

Paceman Jasprit Bumrah said constantly practising his yorker was helping him perfect the art after he finished off Bangladesh to earn India a World Cup semi-final spot.

Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked bowler in one-day internationals, returned figures of 4-55 in his 10 overs at Edgbaston on Tuesday as Bangladesh were bowled out for 286 in response to India’s 314-9, to lose by 28 runs.

Number eight batsman Mohammad Saifuddin gave India a scare with a quickfire unbeaten 51 but Bumrah returned in his final spell to polish off the tail with two wickets in successive deliveries.

“Everything is preparation. I do it again and again in the nets. The more you do it the better you get,” said Bumrah.

“You can’t master it but I’m still trying to get better. It’s all about repetition. Do it again and again and try and replicate in the game.” Opener Rohit Sharma set up the victory with his fourth century in the tournament and India took regular wickets to stay on top, despite a valiant 66 from star batsman Shakib Al Hasan.

Bumrah, with an unorthodox sling-arm action, has claimed 14 wickets in seven matches at his first World Cup and credits his work ethic for the success.

“Whenever I practise in the nets, I practise each and every situation. Be it with the new ball, be it with the old ball, bowling at the death,” said Bumrah.

“So if I have ticked all the boxes in the nets it’s all about execution in the match and keeping it simple. If the work ethic is good, the execution is much easier.” Bumrah, who made his ODI debut in 2016, is just one away from a century of wickets and is not thinking of resting for his team’s final league game against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

The 25-year-old was part of a successful Indian Premier League Twenty20 campaign with title-winners Mumbai Indians, a team led by Sharma.

He believes handling crunch situations in the tournament came in handy ahead of the 50-over World Cup.

“We played some tough matches in the IPL,” said Bumrah.  “We played until the end. So good match practice was given to us, very happy with that.”