IPL 2019: Top 5 moments from Week 1
The first week is done and dusted, with eight matches played thus far. All teams have played two matches each and barring Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals, all the other teams have registered wins and are up and running. Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have had a strong start to the tournament as they’ve won both their games and are comfortably sitting on top of the IPL table.
It’s been quite a ride in the first week with some glaring performances with both bat and ball. Also, there were quite a few controversies that hit the IPL as early as the first week. There were moments that stood out in this first week. Hence, let’s look back at five of the top moments from week one.
Note – Time period considered for the first week is Saturday (23rd March) to Friday (29th March)
#5 Bumrah vs Kohli
The entire build-up to this Indian Premier League (IPL) was surrounding the best v the best. Star Sports (the official broadcaster) had a promo with arguably the best bowler in the world at present - Jasprit Bumrah - sending a warning to the best batsman in the world, Virat Kohli who gleefully accepted the challenge.
And when the two faced off, it was nothing short of brilliant. Both Kohli and Bumrah didn’t have the best of starts to this IPL, but they were back to their best when their two teams squared off. When Kohli arrived at the crease, it was Bumrah who was operating in first over.
Kohli defended the first ball before he stroked three consecutive boundaries to gain the upper hand. The first one was a pull to past mid-on, the next one was an outside-edge that ran away and third was a sublime drive caressed through the cover-point. Like he’s done in the previous years, Kohli continued to gain the advantage over Bumrah.
But the 25-year-old pacer had the last laugh. He came back at a critical time and got rid off a well-set Kohli.
He bowled a very good short ball to his Indian captain who could just get a top-edge and was out caught. It was just the second time Bumrah has dismissed Kohli in IPL cricket. The first time was on Bumrah’s debut when Kohli became the Gujarat pacer’s maiden IPL wicket.
Hence, the first round of this battle of the best v the best went to Bumrah.