How Jasprit Bumrah’s slower ball swallowed seven batsmen at the T20 World Cup
4 min readChennaiMar 9, 2026 09:00 PM IST There is a moment, just before the ball leaves Jasprit Bumrah’s hand, when the batsman thinks he knows. The arm comes over high and fast — nothing in the action suggests anything is different. The seam position offers no clue. The fingers give nothing away. Then, at the last instant, the wrist snaps sideways — a single, violent, almost invisible rotation, as if turning a doorknob. The arm speed is preserved. The ball is not. By the time the batsman realises, he is already through the shot. * * *Ryan Rickelton saw it first. South Africa were rebuilding, two wickets down, and Rickelton leaned into a length delivery around middle stump the way you do when you have read the length early and trust your hands. The ball arrived after his hands had finished. It lobbed to mid-off. Rickelton turned to the giant screen, not quite believing what he had just watched himself do. That was the first glimpse. There would be six more. * * *Against …
