Dale Steyn lauds Jasprit Bumrah’s 16th and 18th overs: ‘Take his two overs away, and England would have won the game by an over’

Jasprit Bumrah’s 1-33 against England in the semifinal was worth gold for India as the co-hosts in the India only managed to get over the line by seven runs in the end. As Jacob Bethell was looking to keep the Wankhede as calm as possible, Bumrah’s 16th and 18th overs helped the crowd to find their voice again and laid the foundation for India to clinch a nailbiter. Former South African lauded Steyn said he cannot believe how often Bumrah delivers.

“I don’t know how Bumrah does it, honestly. This guy is incredible. That amount of pressure, and he does it all the time, not like once every now and then. He does this all the time. I can’t believe it. I don’t know what batter’s approach needs to be while playing him. I don’t know many people who try to take him on, and even if they do, they end up getting out. He is so special, it is hard to put into words how difficult it is to achieve what he did. Take his two overs away, and England would have won the game by an over,” he said, appearing in a conversation on AB de Villiers’ YouTube channel.

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“His biggest strength is that he plays what’s in front of him. Everyone has game plans and blueprints. I promise you, this guy plays what he sees, and he backs it. It is all about Bumrah believing in himself and his ability to execute when he needs to and when it matters the most,” he stated.

“If it wasn’t for over 16, 18 Bumrah and then Pandya, England would have won this game. Kudos to SKY. He took a huge risk leaving the final over to the guy who is not in form or least probable to win them the game. It wasn’t easy as Bumrah also had to come out and perform.”

Steyn also gave credit to Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube who bowled the final couple of overs. “I have to give credit to Hardik. It was the flattest wicket. Coming up once again when it mattered most and bowling an incredible over, making it easy for Shivam Dube in that final over,” he added.