Late-order runs made the difference, says Jasprit Bumrah

The hosts lost the game despite Virat Kohli's 119-ball 107 – his third century on the bounce – at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday, 27 October.

With India bowling first, Bumrah sent back openers Kieran Powell (21) and Chandrapaul Hemraj (15) inside the first 10 overs. Though Shai Hope, who top-scored with a 113-ball 95, was strong at one end, the Windies kept losing wickets and were reduced to 121/5 in the 24th over.

However, in the second part of the innings, handy contributions from Shimron Hetmyer (37) and Jason Holder (32), and a blazing 22-ball 40 from Ashley Nurse, the No.9 batsman, powered the visitors to 283/9 – a total which proved enough to level the series 1-1.

"We bowled well as a unit, till the 35th over, we were pretty good," said Bumrah, who returned 4/35, after India lost the third ODI by 43 runs. "Yes, we gave a little bit of runs in the end, so maybe, that could be the difference. But overall, the bowling performance was not bad. They played well and you have to give credit to the batsmen."

India made three changes to their XI by bringing in pacers Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed. While Bumrah and Khaleel shared five wickets between them, Kumar remained wicketless and gave away 70 runs from his 10-over spell.

“Bhuvi had a good start, but at times, things (go a bit off) towards the end. It happens. Bowling at the death is difficult," Bumrah pointed out.

"It is not like every bowler will have good days. You cannot differentiate. He gave a bit of runs in the end, but they batted well. Jason Holder is also an all-rounder. He batted well down the order."

"We bowled well till the 35th-40th over. We gave away a bit of runs towards the end, but that’s the part of the game. In the position we bowled, there’s no guarantee of success. Somedays it will go well, somedays it won’t. He (Bhuvi) was clear in his plans but the batsmen were in a better place. We will be better prepared when we bowl at the death."

The remaining two ODIs will be played in Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, and Bumrah is looking forward to them.

"When I come into a game, I always think in the present. In all these positions, you don’t think of high scoring games, or the short boundaries or the flat wickets. Because if you focus on all those negatives, you can’t bowl," he said.

"So, what I try to do is focus on one ball at a time. Don’t look too far ahead or don’t go too back in the past. You can’t change the past, you can only control the present. That has always been my focus. You learn from days when things don’t go well and learn from the mistakes."