Looking back at the time when Jasprit Bumrah got the better of Virat Kohli
In April 2013, Daniel Vettori had just passed on the RCB captaincy baton to Virat Kohli, who was by then a World Cup winner and believed to be the closest anyone could ever get to Sachin Tendulkar's records.
On the other hand Jasprit Bumrah was a name unheard of. He was just a middle class boy who dreamt of playing for India one day.
Mumbai Indians were set to play Royal Challengers Bangalore in their IPL 6 opener. Bumrah just had 9 T20s in his kitty, which he had played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy just before the IPL.
John Wright had scouted him, and this meant Bumrah was walking into a dressing room that consisted of Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble. Talk about nerves!
4 April 2013 - RCB vs MI (Match 2, IPL-6)
Just minutes before the match, Bumrah found his name on the team-sheet. Little did he know that in a few moments, the debutant would be up against a certain freak, who in later years would go on to captain him.
The setup
The M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was buzzing with chants of 'AAAAR CEEEE BEEEE' as Kohli had just deposited a Munaf Patel short ball into the second tier. Next up was the 19-year-old speedster from Ahmedabad, bowling his first over in the IPL.
4.1 - Welcome to the big league, sir. Short and wide outside off, Kohli waits and creams it over cover for a one bounce four.
4.2 - Same length, same result. This time, Kohli slices it along the ground through cover for four.
4.3 - Stopped at cover. Bumrah heaves a sigh of relief.
4.4 - Kohli is making a mockery of the youngster here; cuts it over cover for another one bounce four. He is having a nets session.
At this point Tendulkar quickly walked over to Bumrah, probably telling him not to lose focus as it's just one good ball that is required to stop the carnage.
4.5 - He's got him. He's got him! What a moment. First IPL scalp for the youngster. Comes in from wide of the crease, traps Kohli in front of his stumps, with the angle, and the finger goes up. Who says fairy tales are just written in children's books?
Bumrah later went on to pick two more wickets. It could have been a dream debut, but RCB managed to sneak in a victory by just 2 runs.
It's usually said that a man's character is judged by what he does when his back is against the wall. In just 5 balls, Bumrah showed everyone a glimpse of his immense character.
You can watch the battle right here (jump to 1:00 to watch Bumrah up against Kohli).
Bumrah never got the better of Kohli after that, with the RCB captain milking 99 runs off 66 balls against him. With Kohli and Bumrah being regarded the best batsman and best bowler across formats in this era, the battle would be intriguing to watch in the IPL this year.
Friendly banter has already begun though. In a promo uploaded by Star Sports, Bumrah is heard saying, "World ka best bowler? Nahi yaar. Abhi toh world ke best batsman ke dande udana baaki he. Aa raha hu Cheeku bhaiya aur iss baar, aap meri team mein bhi nahin rahenge." (World's best bowler? Not yet. I still have to dismiss the world's best batsman. I'm coming, and this time we are in different teams).
Kohli's reply was equally hilarious, and can be seen in the tweet below:
Bumrah's debut wickets across formats
IPL - Virat Kohli
ODIs - Steven Smith
T20s - David Warner
Tests - AB de Villiers
That is some list. He should probably get it framed, if hasn't already!