Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday said their Group B match against South Africa was crucial so the team wanted to be calm and execute their plans in order to seal the semi-finals spot of the Champions Trophy Cricket Tournament.
Man-of-the-Match Bumrah, who scalped two wickets for 28 runs in eight overs, also revealed the strategy and said the ball was not swinging so they wanted to bowl a tight line.
"It was an important game for us. We were looking forward to the game. We wanted to be calm and wanted to execute our plans in this game, so it worked out for us," Bumrah said after the match.
"I was happy to bowl with the new ball. We contained well at the start. The ball wasn't swinging, so we wanted to stick to a tight line. That was the basic plan for us. It was a good toss to win and bowl first because the wickets haven't be helping the fast bowlers," he added.
India rode on a superb bowling show to thump South Africa by eight wickets and become the first team from Group B to enter the semi-finals of the tournament.
Disciplined Indian bowling bowled out South Africa for 191 runs in 44.3 overs at The Oval. India chased down the target in 38 overs with eight wickets to spare.
This win took India's points tally to four points, while South Africa, with only two points from three matches, were eliminated.
--IANS
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