AHMEDABAD: New Zealand will be ready to pounce if India’s bowling star Jasprit Bumrah falters in the T20 World Cup final said all-rounder Glenn Phillips on Friday.
Defending champions India and New Zealand clash in Ahmedabad on a blockbuster Sunday after the co-hosts edged out a spirited England team in the second semi-final.
A brilliant 105 from Jacob Bethell on Thursday kept England in the hunt during a record chase of 254 before Bumrah bowled a near-perfect 18th over.
A succession of precise yorkers and length balls yielded just six runs and England were behind the chase.
New Zealand, who thrashed South Africa in the first semi-final, are eyeing their maiden title in their second final appearance and Phillips said the team are ready for Bumrah.
“He [Bumrah] is a human as well,” Phillips told reporters. “He is allowed to have a bad day, as are the rest of us. So hopefully we have a good day against him.”
Bumrah’s accuracy and his ability to bowl yorkers has choked opposition teams. Against England, his four overs returned figures of 1-33 in a match where 499 runs were scored in 40 overs.
However, he fared less well against the Kiwis in a five-match T20 series at the start of the year.
India won 4-1 but Bumrah, who played in four of the matches, took just four wickets, conceding 9.46 runs an over.
Phillips acknowledged Bumrah’s class but said the tactics against any bowler are never the same.
“Obviously we had a really good trip against him in the bilateral series as well but he’s a class bowler,” said Phillips.
“He’s got so many variations. He hits the block hole at the death incredibly well.”
Phillips also played down the possible ploy of playing out Bumrah’s four overs and targeting the other bowlers.
“It’s not necessarily going to be that, per se,” he said. “As I said, a bowler is allowed to miss, and if he happens to miss, we do have to put it away.
“That also means that if he does bowl, well, we have to accommodate for other things and adapt.”
Perennial underdogs New Zealand edged into the semi-finals on net run rate but stepped up a couple of gears when Finn Allen’s 33-ball 100 defenestrated favourites South Africa.
New Zealand overturned their target of 169-8 in just 12.5 overs to claim an outrageous nine-wicket win: they are now seeking a first World Cup title in either white-ball format.
Mitchell Santner’s team will be up against a crowd of over 100,000 at the Narendra Modi Stadium and a billion Indian fans watching on TV, although that doesn’t appear to be worrying the New Zealanders.
“For us, we just go out there and enjoy it,” said Phillips.
“We have a great time as a group of guys, we go out there and do our best for our country and yes, obviously a packed crowd is fantastic.
“We play to entertain the people and whether they’re supporting us or whether they’re supporting India, it’s fantastic for cricket in general.”
Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2026
