World Test Championship (WTC) Final: "Jasprit Bumrah wasn't as potent as he could've been with the new ball"

WTC Final: "Jasprit Bumrah wasn't as potent as he could've been with the new ball" - Brad Hogg

Former Australian left-arm spinner Brad Hogg feels that India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t as effective as he could have been with the new ball.

According to Brad Hogg, the Indians were looking to keep things extremely tight rather than go for wickets on Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton.

Bumrah bowled 11 overs on Sunday and was wicketless while conceding 34 runs. Ishant Sharma sent down 12 overs and claimed the wicket of Devon Conway (54) towards the end of the day’s play. The third pacer, Mohammed Shami, gave away only 19 runs in 11 overs but failed to pick up a wicket.

Analyzing Team India’s bowling on Day 3 of the WTC final on his YouTube channel, Brad Hogg said India’s bowling was okay on Sunday. He elaborated:

“Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami bowled that good length. I don’t think Jasprit Bumrah was as potent as he could have been with the new ball. In the later stages though, he was trying to bowl a little fuller and there was some shape there."

"India went in with a game plan to bowl that 6-8 metre length. They didn’t want to go fuller like New Zealand did. They wanted to keep the pressure on New Zealand batsmen. When you go for that fuller length you create more wicket-taking opportunities. But the run rate goes up as well, so they were a little bit cautious there,” Brad Hogg added.

According to Brad Hogg, Shami will be the bowler to watch out for as India look to mount a fightback. The former cricketer opined:

“Shami, for a couple of overs, could bowl a little bit fuller. But because he is not used to it, that little adjustment can put you off your game. For me, Shami bowled well, and he is going to be the pick of the bowlers moving forward, and he is going to get India back in the game.”

#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 strike at the stroke of Stumps on Day 3️⃣Ishant picks half-centurion Conway 👌🏻New Zealand 🇳🇿 lose 2️⃣ wicketsDay 4️⃣ promises to be an exciting one tomorrow #WTC21Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/CmrtWscFua pic.twitter.com/VkQdragnbr
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2021

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Ravichandran Ashwin could have a big impact in the second innings: Brad Hogg

After the pace bowlers struggled to give India the breakthrough, seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin delivered the goods, having Tom Latham (30) caught at short extra-cover by Virat Kohli.

Brad Hogg felt that Ashwin bowled superbly yesterday. Speaking about the offie’s bowling, he said:

“His game plan was keeping the New Zealand batsman back on the crease, not allowing them to come forward. And he bowled that slower one, tempting the batsmen to come out of the crease. The wicket was holding up there, so cover catches are going to come into play as the game progresses. India are still in this game. We have got a reserve day. Ashwin in the second innings is going to have a big impact in this Test match.”