Jasprit Bumrah's five-wicket haul, along with fifties from Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, propelled Mumbai Indians (MI) to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Thursday.
Bumrah's figures of 5-21 earned him the player-of-the-match award as RCB posted 196-8, following Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya's decision to field first.
In the early stages, Bumrah removed India's cricket star Virat Kohli for just three runs. RCB's innings faced further setbacks when rookie pacer Akash Madhwal dismissed England's Will Jacks for eight, leaving the team at 23-2.
RCB's captain Faf du Plessis and youngster Rajat Patidar attempted to stabilise the innings on a composed Mumbai pitch. Patidar's brisk 26-ball 50, featuring four sixes and three fours, provided some impetus, but his dismissal and subsequent wickets left RCB struggling at 108-4 in the 13th over.
Bumrah returned to dismantle the middle order, accounting for du Plessis and Mahipal Lomror in quick succession, the latter for a duck. Despite a late surge from Dinesh Karthik, who remained unbeaten on 53 from 23 balls, Bumrah maintained his dominance, adding two more wickets of debutants Saurav Chauhan and Vijaykumar Vyshak.
Reflecting on the challenges of T20 cricket for bowlers post-match, Bumrah said, "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 added, "I will never say I wanted to take a five-for. The wicket was sticky and I am very happy with my contribution."
Mumbai's response was anchored by aggressive innings from Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. Kishan hammered five sixes in his 34-ball 69, while Yadav raced to a 19-ball 52. Their contributions, along with Rohit Sharma's steady 38 from 24 balls, steered Mumbai to chase down the target comfortably in the 16th over.
Hardik Pandya commended Bumrah's consistent performance: "He does this over and over again and every time I ask him he gets the wickets. He has so much experience and confidence," Pandya remarked, also acknowledging Yadav's batting, "I did tell him, welcome back when he scored the fifty. I have been opposition captain to him as well. Some place he hits, I have never seen any batter hit."
Du Plessis acknowledged Bumrah's impact, stating, "he has been the difference in the two innings. You see him with the ball in his hand. You want to put him under pressure, but the variety does everyone in."
This victory elevates Mumbai to seventh in the league standings, while RCB slips to ninth, just above Delhi Capitals in the cash-rich tournament.
(AFP)
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