The Bumrah over that broke England

In cricket, the winner is often the team that exerts the most pressure and absorbs it best. There may be no better illustration of this than the 18th over of England's chase at the Wankhede last night. With 45 needed off three overs, India gambled on Jasprit Bumrah's final over.

"We needed three sixes for the equation to be completely different. On a ground like that, three sixes can happen in the blink of an eye," England coach Brendon McCullum told Sky Sports. For a side that had been smashing boundaries at will—21 fours and 15 sixes in total—a couple of big hits at that stage seemed likely.

But they ran into Bumrah. He mixed slower balls and yorkers with precision in his final over. Forget three sixes—England managed just six runs from the six deliveries. "Bumrah is the best bowler in the world and he executed brilliantly and shut the game down," McCullum admitted after India won by seven runs to reach the final.

Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran, who had orchestrated the chase well until then, could not answer the call. Their 50-run sixth-wicket stand had come off just 27 balls, but there was no leeway in that Bumrah over. They failed to force the pace against Bumrah, who kept pounding yorker after yorker.

There was one full-length delivery that could have been put away, but Curran failed to capitalize. It seemed Bethell and Curran were playing the bowler—and his reputation—rather than the situation. Bumrah, on the other hand, was playing the match situation rather than the batters.

The plan for Bethell and Curran appeared to be to see off Bumrah and attack the bowlers in the final two overs, but scoring 39 off the last 12 balls was never going to be easy, especially after Hardik Pandya conceded just nine in the penultimate over. Shivam Dube completed the job in the final over, but it was the 18th over that set up India's victory when England were threatening to chase down 254.

His figures of 1 for 33 in four overs, in a match where England's batters launched a rampage in pursuit of 254, proved decisive. It was the defining over of the match. In those overs, Bethell-led England—otherwise inventive and proactive in their boundary-hitting—failed to sustain momentum, managing just four boundaries in 24 deliveries.

"All credit goes to Jasprit Bumrah, the world-class bowler, once-in-a-generation bowler. I think that's what he delivered today. This (award) should go to him actually. If we didn't bowl that way in the death overs, I think I would not be standing here," said Player of the Match Sanju Samson.

Bumrah has taken 10 wickets in the World Cup so far and boasts the best economy rate of 6.62 among pacers who have bowled more than 20 overs. Different batters have stepped up for India in different matches, but Bumrah has been the side's most consistent performer.

"We all know what he's capable of and what he's done for India over the years. He did the same thing again today, raised his hand and showed character to pull the game away from them. It was a special bowling performance," India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.

Bumrah largely stuck to a fuller length, and the most striking delivery of the night came with his very first one. A slower ball pitched up caught Harry Brook by surprise as he went through with a pre-meditated shot, only to be deceived. The only thing better than the ball itself was Axar Patel's stunning catch, running back towards the point boundary.

Bumrah's slower ball is special for its deception. While the grip makes it look like an off-spinning slower one, it doesn't turn like off-spin. Instead, it gains forward and upward momentum—what bowlers call lift. Batters often end up playing too early, as Brook did. Like many players with a long, high backlift, Brook struggled to adjust to the change of pace.

"He's a very good bowler, arguably the best of all time at the minute. And yeah, he's been a very good bowler for a long time. The Indians fielded extremely well. That catch is arguably one of the best catches I've seen as well," a disappointed Brook said.

Bumrah was introduced later in the innings, with captain Suryakumar holding him back to target Brook, arguably England's most dangerous batter. Instead, England found an unlikely hero in Bethell, who scored a century with remarkable enterprise. Yet India's pacers, led by Bumrah, eventually stymied England's charge on a day when the spinners conceded 99 runs in seven overs.

"They needed 13 runs an over and were getting two boundaries almost every over. At the middle stage it looked very easy for them. But the way our bowlers came back… the quality we have in Arshdeep, Hardik and Bumrah—he is a once-in-a-generation bowler and we are very lucky to have him… there was confidence," said Samson after India booked a place in the final.