India are fortunate to have a bowler of the calibre of Jasprit Bumrah, who is head and shoulders above the rest in international cricket, said former batter Sanjay Manjrekar.
Bumrah bowled an incisive spell (3/7) to guide India to a convincing 47-run victory over Afghanistan in their opening Super Eights fixture of the T20 World Cup in Barbados.
Bumrah has taken eight wickets in T20 World Cup 2024 at an economy rate of 3.46, while conceding just four boundaries in 15 overs bowled in four matches.
With the bat, Suryakumar Yadav was the star performer as he slammed a 28-ball 53 to power India to 181/8 in 20 overs.
"There were many matches when we had not conceded the boundary and look at the difference between him and the couple of other seamers," Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
"They were also international standard, but quite rightly I mean, he's looking even better and when you look at all the top-class bowlers around the world.
"There's a big margin between them and Bumrah and India is so fortunate to have him in your playing 11," Manjrekar added.
Former India captain Anil Kumble also lauded Bumrah's performance.
"The kind of understanding of his own bowling you can make out, even when he got Rahmanullah Gurbaz out on a slower ball and wide line. He gets the execution perfect.
"For each batsman he would have figured that out and then doing it right in a big game. This doesn't come easy and I think he has given limited boundaries in the entire tournament," Kumble said.
Regarding Suryakumar, Manjrekar said his presence puts India at an advantageous position.
"This is the advantage India have for having one of the best T20 batters in the world. Tricky pitch, Rashid Khan on song and again you saw the value that Suryakumar Yadav brings to any team.
"And again the thing to like about him which is not really highlighted much is the amount of ground shots that he plays. He chips the balls over the infield in the gaps.
"So, he's not somebody who's always looking for sixes which means sometimes there can be mis-execution trying to extract power," Manjrekar said.
Kumble said Suryakumar regaining form in the Super Eights is a good sign for India.
"It (Suryakumar's presence) gives India the kind of power and stroke play that you need from someone who's batting at number four," said Kumble.
"It certainly puts pressure on the opposition bowlers because it's not easy to control a Surya in this kind of a form.
"You don't know where to bowl, wherever you bowl, you find it hard to stop him from scoring boundaries.
"So, yeah, it certainly augurs well. First game of the Super 8s and you have Surya coming back into this kind of form," Kumble said.
