“Hopefully, he has one of those off days” – Matthew Mott on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of IND vs ENG T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final

England’s head coach Matthew Mott has said that they will prepare in the best possible manner to counter Jasprit Bumrah in the all-important semifinal against India. Bumrah is India’s trump card and he has been in sensational form in the ongoing T20I showpiece.

The gun fast bowler has picked 11 wickets in six matches at an average of 8.54 and an outstanding economy rate of 4.08. Mott is hopeful that England batters play Bumrah with guile and he is hoping that India’s pack leader might have an off-day at the office.

Bumrah returned with impressive figures of 2-6 in the opening game against Ireland and then bowled a match-winning spell of 3-14 against arch-rivals Pakistan. The right-arm pacer got the big wicket of Travis Head in the last game.

Matthew Mott told reporters as quoted by the Guardian, “He’ll be a big part of our planning, any way we can nullify his influence on the game will go a long way. That’s something we’ve done well, taking our medicine against certain bowlers and then doubling down at the other end. There will be players who think they can take him, and times where we have to box clever. I don’t see too many flaws but hopefully, he has one of those off days that any bowler can have and we can capitalise on that.”

Meanwhile, Bumrah was not part of India’s squad in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi final against England. However, the ace pacer returned with impressive figures of 3-32 against England in the ODI World Cup.

Mott noted that India will try to come out firing in the Powerplay overs but feels the opposition’s aggressive approach will give them wicket-taking opportunities.

“They definitely come out a lot harder in the powerplay with the bat. The way Rohit has led from the front is quite obvious for everyone to see. But that also presents a unique opportunity for our bowling attack to take early wickets. We’ve had to play most of this tournament from behind and with adversity. We’d love to throw that first punch, get in front and really hammer that home.”

India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Thursday.