Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat recently shared being extremely nervous to face veteran pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the first time during the IPL 2022 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) as well. After being asked to bat first, Mumbai Indians posted a below-par 151/6 in 20 overs. Rawat opened the batting for RCB with skipper Faf du Plessis in their run-chase and got off to a great start.
He smashed two maximums off left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat before Bumrah came into the attack. Recalling the moment, India’s Under-19 World Cup winner Manjot Kalra’s podcast, Rawat said as quoted by Hindustan Times: “I had never faced him before. That was the first time. I was nervous for sure, probably 200 percent nervous I would say.”
However, Anuj Rawat also felt that he was well prepared to face Bumrah ahead of the match as he had well-planned with RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar.
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“Before that game against Mumbai Indians, our coach Sanjay [Bangar] sir had already sounded me off. He said ‘Agar Bumrah aaya, kya lagta hai, kya ball daalega? Kya karega? (What do you think Bumrah will bowl to you? What will he do?)’ I said, ‘He’ll bowl full, the length to flick the ball’. He said ‘Yes’, and literally that was the ball he bowled to me. He targeted my legs, but I worked it away for a couple of runs,” said Rawat.
Anuj Rawat also opined that scoring his first half-century in the MI clash of IPL 2022 with Virat Kohli at the non-striker’s end assured him.
Rawat shared an 80-run second-wicket stand with Kohli to help RCB register a comfortable win.
“Like I said, Sanjay sir had already gotten me prepared, so I was settled but still, when you see Bumrah coming in, it does hit you a little. As for the knock, the fifty gave me a lot of confidence and what made it special was when I got there, Virat Kohli was at the non-striker end. I had already played 3-4 games before that, but the comfort level got better and you get to know that we now belong here,” concluded Anuj Rawat.
