New York: India captain Rohit Sharma has termed Jasprit Bumrah as a genius and wants his lethal weapon to perform at the same level for the entire duration of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Bumrah was magnificent in India's six-run victory over Pakistan in which he had figures of 3/14 in four overs which included an astounding 15 dot balls while defending a paltry total of 119 on Sunday.
"He is going from strength to strength (Bumrah). We all know what he can do. Not going to talk too much about him. We want him to be in that mindset throughout the World Cup. He is a genius, we all know that," Rohit said, praising one of India's greatest fast bowlers.
Rohit said India had the belief that they would win the match because the pitch was not that conducive for batting.
"With a bowling line-up like that you feel confident to do the job. Halfway through the stage when they were batting, we got everyone together and said that if it can happen to us, it can happen to them."
The skipper, however, did admit that they should have batted better after being 89 for 3 at one stage. "We didn't bat well enough. Halfway through our innings we were in a good position. We didn't put enough partnership there and fell short with the bat," Rohit said about losing 7 wickets for 28 runs.
"We spoke about every run matter on a pitch like that. There was enough on the pitch. It was a good wicket to be honest, compared to the last game. Little contribution from everyone can make a huge difference," he said.
Bumrah, who has now won back-to-back man of the match awards, felt that the pitch was slightly easier for batting in the second half as sun came out.
But he said the entire bowling unit was very disciplined in its effort. "It feels really good. We felt we were a little under and the wicket got a little better after the sun came out. We were really disciplined so it feels good."
Since it was a two-paced wicket, the idea was to hit the seam and get some lateral movement, said Bumrah.
"Tried to hit the seam as much as I could, tried to be as clear as I could with my execution and it all came out well so I felt happy," he said.
Both Rohit and Bumrah acknowledged the vociferous support that they had received at the Nassau Cricket County Ground.
"(It) felt like we were playing in India, really happy with the support and that gives us energy on the field. We focus on the now. "We've played two games and played really well. You stick to your processes and look to play well."