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Jasprit Bumrah has played down the hype around the India vs Pakistan ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match which will be played at his home venue in Ahmedabad on 14 October. India have 7-0 record against Pakistan in ODI World Cups and while the Men in Blue will be aiming to continue their winning run, the pacer has said that the team is not making any special preparations for the game, instead the focus is on maximising their own potential.
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“See every team will have batsmen, every team will have bowlers. We also have batsmen; we also have bowlers. We’re not preparing any special for any special team,” Bumrah said after guiding India to a victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday.
“Yes, we’re looking at ourselves more than the others because we’ve realized that if we focus on our team, we focus on our strengths everything else takes care of itself. So we are focusing on our team, our preparation. If everything that is there in our control, we control that, that gives us the best chance. So that is what our team is focusing on.”
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The pacer also added that the priority for him right now is to go home and meet his mother before taking on Pakistan in the World Cup.
“Yeah, obviously I’ve been away for a while now. I’ll be happy to see my mother at home. I’m going to see her. That’s the first basic thing for me,” he said. “It’s obviously playing at home. I have not played a one day international there. I played a test match. So yeah, the atmosphere is going to be exciting. I’m sure a lot of people are going to come. So, it will be a sight to see. So yeah, hoping for the best over there.”
Bumrah returned with match figures of 4/39 — his best in ODI World Cups — as India defeated Afghanistan by eight wickets to clinch their second successive win in the World Cup.
The pacer largely stuck to hard length (good length) which resulted in a string of dot balls, 19 in his first four-over spell, wickets, and didn’t allow Afghanistan to post a par score. Bumrah said that he opted for hard length as the pitch was suitable for batting and he didn’t want to give the batters an easy opportunity.
“See obviously in this format you have to understand what is working. So, some days there would be some swings so your lengths would change. But this wicket was quite a batting track that we realised early on as well when we started bowling. There was a little bit of seam but the ball was coming on to the bat really well from the first over so we realised that. So, we are just trying to hit the hard length, try to make it as difficult as possible and try to make them hit difficult shots. So that was the plan and probably trying to do that,” he said.
“I am not result oriented. Just because I have taken four wickets, that doesn’t mean that I am very, very happy or I have done something extraordinary. I just go with my preparation. I go with the process that I feel is right. I try to read the wickets and try to find the best answers that work on that wicket.
“As simple as that, not thinking about the results because I’ve got results today. I’m very, very good, that doesn’t work in my book. I try to back my strengths, try to read the wicket, and try to give my best.”
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