What if: Jasprit Bumrah never bowled that no ball in the Champions Trophy final

If things go on the way they are going, Jasprit Bumrah, ten years from now, will be hailed as one of the finest limited overs’ bowlers to have graced the game. He might excel in the longest format as well, but it’ll be incredibly surprising if he doesn’t go on to become an ODI and T20 legend.

Despite all the glorious things he has achieved in such a short period, there’s one haunting memory which will never fade away. It will keep loitering around him like an evil, attempting to penetrate through his mind and break him down. But Bumrah’s self-belief has helped him get over it and he’s only growing in confidence.

No prizes for guessing, it’s that no-ball to Fakhar Zaman in the 2017 Champions Trophy final which in a way cost India the title. A struggling Zaman finally fell prey to the brilliance of Bumrah, but as it turned out, the young fast bowler had overstepped, as suggested by the replays.

Zaman was a completely different batsman from then on and he clobbered a sensational century. He literally toyed with the Indian bowlers, helping Pakistan register a humongous total on the board batting first. India fell short by a colossal margin, handing the neighbors a glorious triumph to savor.

What if Bumrah never overstepped?

In a bid to glorify his status as the brightest young talent on the planet, Bumrah almost had his say on the biggest night of his cricketing career, but the rush of blood made him overstep the popping crease and the rest, as they say, is history. Whenever such shambolic incidents occur, we always tend to think what if!

Let’s just think of it, what if Bumrah bowled a legal delivery and Zaman had walked back to the pavilion. I firmly believe Pakistan would’ve fallen apart, with due respect to their middle order stalwarts. It was the fourth over the game and it would’ve done great damage to the Pakistanis’ confidence.

It was the script India followed for the entire tournament. They picked up early wickets, put their opponents under pressure and made them succumb to the heat. If Zaman had walked back at that point, it would’ve been yet another perfect start for the Indians.

Just the way it happened in a few other games that tournament, India probably would’ve restricted Pakistan to a meager total and if not for Fakhar Zaman’s blitzkrieg, I can’t see Pakistan winning that match. Virat Kohli certainly would’ve held his first ICC trophy as a captain and that would’ve been a heartwarming sight for his fans.

Also, the world would’ve missed one of the most entertaining and breathtaking renditions, Zaman really was on a roll after the resurrection. I wonder where his career would’ve headed as that innings changed his status in the fraternity. It’d be fair to say that this knock helped him become a much better batsman.

Could’ve avoided some serious trolling

Spare a thought for Bumrah as well, who got trolled severely ever since he committed that mistake. Can anyone rule out the chances of him coming up with a man of the match performance given he had not overstepped that day, absolutely no! Looking at this incident the other way round, this low point actually made him stronger rather than breaking him apart.

Hardik Pandya played an absolute blinder with the bat as well, which announced his arrival at the International stage big time. It was a mind-boggling innings from the youngster, who earned India a respectable total and made the debacle look a little less bad.

It’s easy to sit back, relax and analyze these situations in hindsight, but that mistake from Bumrah brought a smile on millions of faces in Pakistan. To be fair, it meant a lot more to them than it would’ve to India as Pakistan almost waited a decade for an ICC trophy.

The 2017 Champions Trophy final was another one to add to the endless list of Indo-Pak classics, but this one wasn’t memorable for the 2011 world champions. It was a sad sight to see such a wonderful team flunk, but that’s life at its heartbreaking best.

Stay updated on ‘today’s cricket news‘ with CricTracker.com.