Jasprit Bumrah had a plan for Chris Gayle in the World T20 semi-final. It would arrive unexpected.
Bumrah's first ball of the match, Gayle lined up to what he thought was a fuller-length delivery moving outside the off stump. Instead, the ball was yorker length, swung in late at 139kph, beat Gayle's bat, and bent back his off stump, a luminescent red bail falling at the batsman's heel like a dying ember. Sanjay Manjrekar, usually a man who keeps his emotions in check on air, raised his voice in excitement: "Jasprit Bumrah has bowled the ball of the tournament for India."
Bharat Arun, India's bowling coach at the time, recounts the origins of the Gayle dismissal. "We were talking about bowling yorkers with the new ball and he [Bumrah] said he was pretty confident about doing that. He said he wants to bowl one today. That is one time when batsmen don't expect a yorker. And he did that."
It was a combination of practice and bowling intelligence that helped Bumrah earn the prized wicket, Arun says. That confidence in his ability in high-pressure situations is what has made him a standout, catapulting him, still only months into his international career, from a fringe bowler into one of India's strike weapons in limited-overs cricket.
Bumrah even forced genuine praise out of Dhoni, usually parsimonious with compliments, after his debut series. After India whitewashed Australia 3-0 in the T20s down under in January this year, Dhoni called Bumrah the find of the limited-overs leg of the tour.
For Dhoni, the most striking thing was how Bumrah pitched his yorkers in the slot consistently, the signature of a good death bowler. His unusual bowling action, fast arm, nippy pace, ability to swing and seam the ball, smart changes of pace, and a killer yorker add up to make Bumrah a valuable short-form fast bowler. He made his IPL debut in 2013 for Mumbai Indians and has since grown to be key for the franchise in the absence of the injured Lasith Malinga.
"He has an enormous amount of self-confidence because of the fact that he can execute the yorker, a pretty good bouncer, and the slower ball" Bowling coach Bharat Arun on Bumrah
"I try to do what I know," Bumrah says. "I stick to my strengths. I have been doing that for Gujarat as well.
"I see my videos before a match. See what I have done before, so I can replicate if such situations come up.
"So I back myself. Self-belief is very important. Execution under pressure can be very difficult sometimes, but I talk to myself that I can execute and stick to my plans.
"See, some days the plan won't work. Sometimes you will go for runs. But more often than not, if you have a clear head while bowling at the death, you will be successful."
One of the days the plan worked and where Bumrah's mindset was tested to the full was the evening of March 23 this year. India were playing Bangladesh in a crucial match of the World T20. The loser would virtually be shunted out of the tournament.
Bangladesh got off to an edgy start. R Ashwin removed Mohammad Mithun in his first over, and would have had a second in his next over but for Bumrah. Playing across the line, Tamim Iqbal attempted a sweep and the top edge looped over to Bumrah at short fine leg, who lined up nicely for the catch but spilled it.
In the next over, delivered by Bumrah, Tamim powered four fours and got himself and Bangladesh back on the rails. "He was just stepping out all the balls and hitting," Bumrah remembers. "He was not fully in control, but the mishits went to the boundary. The pressure came to us."
Dhoni had asked Bumrah to be ready to deliver the important overs at the death. In the 19th over, with Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease, 17 needed and four wickets in hand, Bangladesh were eyeing an upset. India's senior players walked up to Bumrah to motivate him. He did not need to be told much. He knew his plan: execute the yorkers and don't vary things too much.
"I did something I usually don't do - stick to one delivery because you can become predictable," he says. "But that day, because the room for error was very less, I did not try the slower balls. I was just trying to focus on the yorkers. One or two balls here and there, even one boundary if you concede, then the equation becomes run a ball, which becomes very easy."
Only six runs came off that over. The pressure was back on Bangladesh, who had to get 11 from the final over, delivered by Hardik Pandya. Nine runs came off the first three deliveries, but Bangladesh lost three wickets off the last three balls of the match, falling short by two runs.
****
Ashish Nehra has watched Bumrah over the last few years, not just in the IPL but also in the Ranji Trophy. "It is very easy to say he is bowling yorker, yorker, yorker," Nehra says. "But it is not that easy.
"I have played with him and in 50-over cricket he would be successful because he has a good length delivery also. He is somebody who has variety and control. On top of that, he has decent pace: he is 137-138, at times 140kph, bowler."
For Arun, clarity of thought is a big reason Bumrah stands out from the rest. "He knows what he can execute efficiently," Arun says. "He has an enormous amount of self-confidence because of the fact that he can execute the yorker, a pretty good bouncer, and the slower ball. These are three important variations any bowler should possess in the limited-overs format."
Bumrah learned much of his trade in T20, but he has made a smooth transition into 50-overs cricket and adjusted to the demands of the longer game comfortably. "He is one bowler who can bowl with new ball as well as old ball," Nehra points out.
"Some days the plan won't work. Sometimes you will go for runs. But more often than not, if you have a clear head while bowling at the death, you will be successful"
Adding new skills to his repertoire is a challenge that engages Bumrah. "Because now people know what you do. How to be successful even if people know what you are doing is what I am trying to learn," he says.
Getting to grips with failure is an important part of that. "What I have learned more is from getting hit," he says. "Those matches are more helpful than the successful matches. Then you come to know what kind of mistakes you commit. So next time when you play against the same opponent, you don't repeat the mistakes."
He watches other Indian fast bowlers in action and makes notes. "I try to watch even when someone else is bowling, so you come to know what is working and what is not working. If the ball is wet, you are not able to bowl the yorker, so what is the other bowler doing? Why is he successful, why is he not giving runs? He is bowling length, so I can also bowl length and use the bouncer, which is a difficult ball to score from. I try and observe and copy other bowlers when it works for them."
This weekend Bumrah begins his new season in Florida, where India play West Indies in two T20Is. After about eight months on the road, he says he enjoyed a good off season, which he started with a short vacation followed by focusing mostly on strength and conditioning work.
Nehra reckons Bumrah ought be ready for Test action in a couple of years if he continues to play for India in limited-overs cricket. Given India play all their Tests at home this season, the squad is not likely to be too full of fast bowlers, keeping the spin-friendly pitches in mind.
In any case, as Arun says, the selectors will not want to rush Bumrah into the longer format. "If there is one area he needs to improve, it is his fitness, because his bowling takes a huge toll on his body. For the longer format of the game he needs to get a lot more stronger.
Bumrah himself is not in a rush. "I don't think too far ahead. I don't think about coming into this team, that team. Whatever is meant to be, everything will happen on its own. I just focus on my preparation and my process. I want to develop overall so I can do well in all three formats."