IPL 2021: 3 match-winning spells by Jasprit Bumrah against Punjab
Mumbai Indians’ (MI) pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has an impressive Indian Premier League (IPL) record, having picked up 113 wickets in 96 matches. An average of 23.78, coupled with an economy rate of 7.37, speaks volumes about his achievements.
He has had considerable success against Punjab. In 12 matches against them, Bumrah has bagged 17 wickets at an average of 16.82. Furthermore, an economy rate of 6.26 against the Mohali-based franchise is his lowest against any team in the IPL.
With the Mumbai Indians all set to take on the Punjab Kings today, we take a look at three match-winning spells produced by Jasprit Bumrah against Punjab.
1. 3-15 at Wankhede in 2018
Jasprit Bumrah won the Man of the Match award on 16 May 2018 for his bowling figures against Kings XI Punjab (as the franchise were known till last year’s edition).
Chasing 187, Punjab were cruising at one stage and found themselves at 145/1 in 16 overs. Jasprit Bumrah bowled the 17th over and had an immediate impact.
He dismissed a settled Aaron Finch with the first ball of the over. Punjab were set back further when Bumrah picked up Marcus Stoinis' wicket off the fifth ball.
In the 19th over, he dismissed KL Rahul for 94 with a slower ball, Ben Cutting taking the catch at long-off.
Kings XI Punjab lost the match by 3 runs thanks in large part to the spell from Jasprit Bumrah.
2. 3-26 at Wankhede in 2016
Mumbai Indians set Kings XI Punjab a target of 190 in a league match on 25 April 2016. Bumrah backed up his teammates' efforts by bowling a match-winning spell.
In the crucial 17th over of the innings, he picked up 2 wickets. Glenn Maxwell was well set on 56 runs before he was bowled by the MI pacer.
Bumrah then castled Nikhil Naik. His spell hindered Kings XI Punjab's progress as they ultimately lost the match by 25 runs.
3. 2-18 at Abu Dhabi in 2020
IPL 2020 was moved to UAE due to COVID-19 restrictions in India. The move did not affect Jasprit Bumrah, as he proved instrumental in the Mumbai Indians' fifth IPL title win.
Against Kings XI Punjab on 1 October 2020, Mumbai Indians scored 191 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
While 192 was always going to be a difficult chase for the Kings, Bumrah's economical spell made it that much harder for KL Rahul's men. He bowled his four overs picking up 2 wickets for just 18 runs.
After starting his innings impressively, Mayank Agarwal was bowled for 25. Bumrah then accounted for Kiwi all-rounder James Neesham. The team, jointly owned by actress Preity Zinta, did not recover after that, falling to a 48-run defeat at the hands of the defending champions.