Star Mumbai Indians (MI) speedster Jasprit Bumrah faced mockery on social media despite his historic bowling performance against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this week.
In the high-octane encounter between Mumbai Indians and the RCB at home, the Team India pace spearhead produced one of his best bowling displays, finishing with outstanding figures of 5/21 in his four overs to torment Faf du Plessis and his men after Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to field first.
Though Jasprit Bumrah's stunning display earned him rich plaudits from various quarters, a section of Virat Kohli fans pointed out that the Ahmedabad-born cricketer deserted Team India when the national team needed him the most in big-ticket contests.
For Instance, he did not pick any wickets in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in 2021, the 2019 World Cup semifinals, and the high-pressure India vs Pakistan game in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On the contrary, in the match against the RCB, Jasprit Bumrah was on the button right from the beginning, troubling the 2024 IPL's leading run-scorer Virat Kohli as he choked him for runs. With runs hard to come by due to Jasprit Bumrah's immaculate line and length, the former RCB captain eventually got out for 3 off 9 balls as the Mumbai Indians star delivered a big blow to the visitors.
Bumrah robbed 3 ICC Trophyies from Captain Virat Kohli 💔
Never forget ,Never Forgive pic.twitter.com/OneYqD7S7L
— ANSH. (@KohliPeak) April 11, 2024
After Jasprit Bumrah sent Virat Kohli back and Akash Madhwal dismissed Will Jacks in quick succession, Royal Challengers Bengaluru found themselves under the gun 2/23 before skipper Faf du Plessis combined with Rajat Patidar to steady the ship.
When Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar were batting together, it looked like RCB would end up with a huge total on the board. However, Jasprit Bumrah's return to bowling in the 11th over meant that the pressure was back on the South India-based franchise.
The pressure exerted by Jasprit Bumrah helped Gerald Coetzee and Shreyas Gopal to secure the wickets of Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell within five deliveries, shifting the momentum back to the Mumbai Indians.
The last five overs of RCB's essay turned into Jasprit Bumrah's show as he tore into their lower-middle order, scalping Mahipal Lomror, Saurav Chauhan, and Vijaykumar Vyshak in no time whatsoever to complete his second five-wicket haul in the history of the IPL.
With his heroics at the Wankhede Stadium, Jasprit Bumrah also became the first bowler in the Indian Premier League to pick five wickets against RCB.
Besides, he surpassed Ravindra Jadeja and Sandeep Sharma to become the highest wicket-taker against RCB. While Jasprit Bumrah's wicket tally rose to 29 against RCB following his historic display on Thursday, Ravindra Jadeja and Sandeep Sharma were left behind with 26 wickets each against the same side.
Moreover, he joined Australia's James Faulkner, his Team India colleagues Jaydev Unadkat and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the only bowlers who have two fifers to their names in the prestigious T20 competition.
Even RCB skipper Faf du Plessis was in awe of Jasprit Bumrah, observing that he was the main difference between the two sides.
“He (Bumrah) has been the difference in the two innings. We put them under pressure but the one guy, being out there myself, and you see him with the ball in his hand. You want to put him under pressure, but the variety does everyone in. He has got a really good bouncer, slower ball,” the ex-South Africa skipper told the broadcasters.
After the match, a delighted Jasprit Bumrah shared the secret behind his all-format success. Also, he highlighted how his focus on developing newer skills has assisted him in transforming himself into a well-oiled cricketing machine.
“This format is very harsh on the bowler. So you have to have all kinds of skills. This is what I train for. That come this situation, I should have different options. I should not be a one-trick pony. I should just not rely on my yorker because there will be days where my execution is off so I can rely on another delivery. So this is what I had worked on early on in my career as well. Everybody's doing their research. Data and all of that comes in. So people start to line you up. So I wanted to have different skills so very happy that I could use it,” Jasprit Bumrah said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
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