Tuesday 2nd Jun, 2026
Thiruvananthapuram: Jasprit Bumrah has been an asset to Virat Kohli, especially in the death overs. His yorkers may not be crushing toes like Waqar Younis’ did but they are sharp enough to worry the batsmen.
Testimony of the same was given by New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner ahead of Tuesday’s third and deciding T20 in Thiruvananathapuram when he said the India bowler is a tricky customer.
“Both Bumrah and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) have bowled brilliantly in the series. Bumrah is very good at the death, he can hit the (block) hole and has very good change-ups. We prepare as we can in the nets for his bowling, but in the middle if he doesn’t miss it, it can be quite difficult,” Santner, the team’s key spinner, said on Monday.
The Virat Kohli-led Indian team has crushed every opposition in limited-overs cricket in the last year-and-a-half, sweeping many series. But this New Zealand team has competed.
They were as close as possible to winning the ODI series (lost by 6 runs) and have a real chance of clinching the T20 series at the Greenfield International Stadium on Tuesday, which Santner admitted doesn’t happen often.
“India have played very good cricket for a long time now. They are very tough to beat in home conditions. We have it to the decider for the last two series. Both teams will feel the pressure and would want to win. It is about performing on the day. They played well in Kanpur under pressure too. We have to play the best we can and perform our roles,” added the south paw.
“Last year we did not put up a performance we wanted to. In the last ODI in Kanpur, we were close but every time we get to a decider it is a positive. We are playing pretty good cricket at the moment. If we can put out a similar performance (like Rajkot), we can take the series 2-1.
“We have a chance to win a series in India which is tough to come by, so everyone is pretty excited.”
India are in a spot of bother with their fifth bowler but the 25-year-old said New Zealand are not really focussed on targeting any bowler.
“Ashish Nehra has been a very good bowler for a long time for India. (Mohammed) Siraj, on debut, bowled really well but was unlucky at times – it is the nature of T20 cricket.
“You might try and target one bowler but anyone can bowl well on the day, so I don’t think we will target anyone. We still have to respect the bowler. We’re going tomorrow with a clear head and will try and hit the bad balls, but also do something similar to the last game.