Royal Challengers Bengaluru: In a match in which each of the 12 bowlers had an economy rate of more than 7.00 and 10 of them in even 10-plus each, Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah conceded runs at 5.25 runs per over.
With Bumrah bagging a brilliant haul of 5-21, Mumbai Indians (MI) thrashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by seven wickets with 27 balls to spare in Match 25 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday night.
Bumrah’s success was more appreciable as five batters hammered half-centuries with Faf du Plessis (61), Rajat Patidar (50) and Dinesh Karthik (52 not out) did that for RCB while Ishan Kishan (69) and Suryakumar Yadav struck blazing fifties for Mumbai Indians.
Thursday’s 5-21 was Bumrah’s second-best bowling effort after his 5-10 against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022, which took his tally for this season to 10 wickets in five matches, giving the 30-year-old the Purple Cap.
Bumrah, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his sensational bowling, said the reason for his success is that he tries not to be a one-trick pony while bowling. Claiming that bowling in the shortest format of the game is very harsh, the pacer said he regularly plans his variations after watching his performance in the previous match, works on perfecting his deliveries and tries to keep the batters guessing on what he will bowl next.
“I will never say I wanted to take a five-for. The wicket was sticky and I am very happy with the contribution. In this format, it is very harsh for the bowlers. I try to not be a one-trick pony, I have worked on this early in my career. People start to line you up. I want to have different skills,” he said after the match.
Bumrah, who said preparation is always the key to a good performance, used his toe-crushing yorkers, slow dipping full toss and landed the ball on the right length and proper areas to produce his best performance of the season so far.
“Bowling is tough because you will have to take a beating. When things have not worked out for me the next day I have seen the videos and analyzed what did not work. Preparation is always the key. Important to keep pushing yourself before a game. It is not a one-trick pony. You don’t always have to bowl a yorker, sometimes you bowl a yorker, sometimes a short ball. There is no ego in this format. You can bowl at 145 (kmph), but sometimes it is important to bowl slower balls,” said Bumrah.
On Thursday, Bumrah did all of these as he claimed two wickets in two balls twice, missing the hat-trick on both occasions, and became the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul against RCB in IPL history.
Bumrah, who was very happy with his performance, said the wicket was “sticky” in the first 10 overs and therefore he worked out his strategy when he came back for his second spell in the second half of the RCB innings.
