This is the best batsman in the world for now pedestalling not himself but another. This is also a skipper speaking about his armour, not just in the much-fabled willow department but in the bowling unit which has emerged as Team India's deadliest strike unit in recent times, not just in connection with opening spells but with middle order spinners and death over bowling as well.
India's inaugural match in the ongoing edition of the World Cup in England, sported both the bat and the ball as a feather in the cap. Here is a brief on the three men who played out the winning soiree against South Africa, making them look more vulnerable than they are or ever were.
JASPRIT BUMRAH
When did you last hear a Punjabi fella from Gujarat being talked about as the ultimate destruction weapon for stalwart batsmen all over the world? When did you last hear Hashim Amla speaking about the difficulties of navigating this slight Indian bowler with an untidy bowling action and a run-up so short that you would throw dwarfs at him for comparison? When did you last hear Kevin Pietersen taking to Twitter to give survival tips to right-hand batsmen facing any Indian bowler?
It's only once in a while that such specimens walk into the Indian dressing room with a benign smile and an inconfident gait, only to strike fear and bewilderment in the hearts of biggies in the middle. That is what Bumrah did when he cleaned up South Africa's two great men at the mouth of the game, leaving the rest to be nibbled up by Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep in the middle overs and Bhuvneshwar Singh in the wrap up ones.
Kohli, thus, beamed while speaking about "matured innings, team effort, boys doing their jobs" and more such match winners under his guard. "
"One thing you know while facing Jasprit is that you have to play good cricketing shots and back your technique against him. Because if you are hesitant and he senses that, then he is all over you. If he senses someone is not enjoying the short ball in the nets, he will make sure that guy gets it in that session," the skipper said.
Bumrah though is much more modest about his abilities. For a fast bowler of such repute, he is unnervingly soft-spoken and sports a winning smile similar to that of Djoker's when the latter is about to smash his opponent out of the court.
"I don't think about expectations. I just do what the team wants me to do. I don't think I have a reputation to live up to as I just need to keep things simple," Bumrah, the World No.1 in ODIs said just after the match.
As for his inspirations in the rarified world of fast bowlers, Bumrah is ready to learn from anybody who offers him assets, be it a first class bowler, a local lad or an international great. "I always keep an eye on what is happening all over, so that I can learn and add things to my armoury. There's no harm in learning. For example, if you tell me there's a perfect action in the world, I'll try to copy that," he said.
Kohli though knows his bowler's deadly serious intent, even at nets. "What you see him bowling in the match, he bowls exactly like that to us in the nets. He doesn't care who is standing in front of him. He will bounce people, try to get them bowled or may be york them with the new ball. That's the reason for his consistency. He doesn't change his game because he's in the nets," the skipper added.
Bumrah's intensity in the nets adds to the confidence of his fellow batsmen to face other bowlers in actual match situation.
"For a batsman, it's beautiful to face a guy who bowls with match intensity and he's looking to get you out, so when you play well against him you walk out with more confidence," Kohli said.
Talking to him in the mixed zone of this world event tells you how deceptive he is, deceptive and yet simple in orchestrating his game. "Fitness, gymming, the right diet and a delightfully set attitude towards the game is what give all the fangs to this weapon India has started doting on.
ROHIT SHARMA
Of the 23 international tons that Rohit Sharma has picked up in style, the one against South Africa at the Hampshire Bowl is the best, feels his fellow batsman and skipper Virat Kohli.
Kohli is not way off the mark. It was a difficult condition in which Sharma scripted his feat and that of India too. The clouds were getting heavier and darker and more overbearing than a bully in class. And yet, he survived not just the elements by sheer dint of merit and perseverance after being given a change or two by the Proteas, but also by determination, maturity and of course, his abilities to pull dazzling shot all over the ground.
His 13 fours and 2 sixes of the game looked effortless, well-placed and textbook correct. The pull has always been a Sharma special but his unbeaten 122 on a bouncy Bowl wasn't as easy to get as it looked through his blade.
"This is his best ODI innings because of the kind of pressure the first World Cup game brings. I know, as a batsman, when you go in and a few balls bounce like that, it's not easy to gather yourself again and play in a calm manner," ," Kohli said.
Composure in such situations is hard to get but Sharma sported it as his kerchief, pacing his aggression to situation, curbing it when needed and unfolding it when least expected.
"A lot of times batsmen tend to hit their way out of the situation. But he was very composed. He's played so many games, we expect a lot of maturity and a lot of responsibility from someone like him. Of all the brilliant innings I have seen him play, I think this, for me, was the top of the pile because of the way he compiled his innings and at no stage did we feel like, or he felt like he is going to throw it away," the skipper said.
What was most heartening was the way Sharma set the pace of the game, something that Kohli is proud of. "Controlling the game so beautifully from one end and allowing the others to display themselves and string in small little partnerships was great to see for such a low total. Rohit played the perfect innings for that kind of a situation on that kind of a wicket against a bowling attack that was threatening to pick up wickets at any stage," he added.
YUZVENDRA CHAHAL
This petite, ear-studded, Hindi-speaking chess player of yore from Haryana may have left the board game 16 years ago, but that has not dimmed his deep-thinking abilities which he now applies to his cricket. The YouTube videos, the smiles and the general camaraderie apart, this leg break spinner has hidden capabilities that can eat up opposition campaigns without even a leading signal in that direction.
The spin magic that Chahal unleashed in the middle overs at the Hampshire Bowl clocking 4 for 51 is not new or alien to him. But it did put the stands, his skipper and the South Africans in awe.
"Chess has taught me patience and planning. When you play chess, you normally plan 15 to 16 moves in advance. It is the same when you bowl to a player like Faf. You plan whether to bowl a googly or a flipper, which are the deliveries they are picking and the ones they can't pick. I loved the manner in which I dismissed Faf. Since I was getting my deliveries to drift, I planned bowling a slider on off-stump and he didn't read that," Chahal said.
Almost a veteran now with the turn and the guile at this young age, Chahal rolled his fingers alongside his skipper Kohli for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, to get noticed.
"He is one bowler who will never say no to bowling irrespective of any situation in the match. He is ready to bowl in Powerplays. If you keep seven fielders inside the circle, even then he is ready. He has a very high degree of self-belief and the way he thinks about the game is very different from others," Kohli said.
Hashim Amla said after the match that Chahal has a big heart when it comes to bowling those flippers which can hit the boundary too but soaking in pressure, Chahal says, has come after player 40 odd international matches with usually rich dividends. "I give credit to our pacemen for setting it up as when myself and Kuldeep come into the attack, there is far less pressure on us," he said.
The deception, in good measure, is not restricted to Chahal's bowling. It comes at all levels, be it the deep study of the pitch, or the behaviour of the batsman facing him. He studies them hard and fast and moulds his bowling to the situation.
"He is fully aware about the behaviour of the pitch and what needs to be done. That is his strength. Whatever he has achieved today, the credit solely goes to him as all he had done is to bowl his heart out," the skipper said.