Jasprit Bumrah once more starred for Mumbai Indians with a five-for as they thumped the hapless Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets at Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2024 on Thursday. Ishan Kishan (69) and Suryakumar Yadav (52) also played their parts for the home side. MI chased down the target of 197 in just under 16 overs.
Bumrah’s magic
Early on in RCB’s innings, there was just enough movement off the seam, and Bumrah duly took advantage of it by dismissing the dangerous Virat Kohli with a nip-backer. He was also largely economical. However, it was in the later overs when Bumrah took his game to an elevated plane. He removed Faf du Plessis and Mahipal Lomror off consecutive deliveries. The highlight being the yorker to trap Lomror in front.
In the 19th over, he then extracted bounce from back of a length to send both Saurav Chauhan and Vijaykumar Vyshak back in the hut. It was a complete performance from Bumrah, as he returned amazing figures of 5 for 21. Basically, Bumrah has touched a different zone and is at the peak of his powers.
Du Plessis, Patidar, Karthik prop up RCB
At 23 for 2, RCB were in a spot of bother, and the ball, too, was nipping around a bit at that stage of the innings. Rajat Patidar and du Plessis then resurrected the innings with an 82-run stand. Patidar employed some fine horizontal-bat shots and drilled a couple of them straight down the ground. Du Plessis, too, played a few classy strokes down the ground. In the end overs, Dinesh Karthik gave an exhibition of his pyrotechnics by employing scoops and slices as RCB inched closer to 200. Akash Madhwal bore the brunt of Karthik’s fireworks.
Kishan and Surya leave RCB in a state of shock
In the second innings, the dew made its presence felt and RCB’s bowlers were put to the sword by especially Kishan and Surya. The turning point of the game was perhaps the fifth over when Mohammed Siraj was smashed for 23 runs, with Kishan clubbing him for three sixes and a boundary. Glenn Maxwell followed it up by giving away 17 in the very next over.
In the 11th over, Surya, who replaced Kishan at the crease, slammed Akash Deep for three hits into the stands alongside a boundary. The way he used his wrists to crack one over long leg gave a glimpse of his ability to explore every nook and cranny of the ground. The carnage didn’t stop there as Reece Topley, RCB’s main bowler, was thwacked for 18 in an over as well. By then, the outcome of the game was more or less a foregone conclusion. Eventually, in the 16th over, MI won the game (199-3) on the back of Hardik Pandya clonking Deep for a six.
RCB continue to flounder
It is true that MI won an important toss, which allowed them to bat with dew around. But RCB’s bowling unit continues to be below par. Deep, who came into the side for today’s game, finished with figures of 1 for 55 from 3.3 overs. In fact, none of the bowlers went at under 10 an over, with Vyshak at 10.7 turning out to be the least expensive. On a slightly positive note, du Plessis has found some form, although his leadership has come under scrutiny. RCB continue to languish at ninth place, while MI move up to seventh in the standings.
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