Jasprit Bumrah was the Player of the Match for his team Mumbai Indians (MI), who defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the recent IPL 2024 match in Mullanpur on April 18. MI defeated PBKS by 9 runs only to pocket two points and move to 7th place in the points table.
MI had batted first after losing the toss and posted 192/7 in 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav made 78, while Rohit Sharma (36) and Tilak Varma (34*) made vital contributions as well.
In response, Gerald Coetzee dismissed Prabhsimran Singh for a golden duck in the opening over. Then Jasprit Bumrah shook the PBKS top order by dismissing Rilee Russouw and Sam Curran.
Though Shashank Singh (41) and Ashutosh Sharma (61) tried their best and gave MI a mighty scare, MI prevailed in the thrilling encounter to win the match in the end.
Jasprit Bumrah was also handed the Purple Cap for most wickets in IPL 2024 with 13 scalps to his name. He revealed that he would like to make an impact with the new ball, rather than in the death overs.
"Of course, you want to make an impact early on when the ball does something. Because in this format, probably the ball does swing for the first two overs. And when I want to bowl more, I do play Test cricket. That is where all my desires for bowling more get over. In this format, when the ball swings for the first two overs, you do want to make an impact and when the opportunity comes, I'm happy to contribute,” Bumrah said in the post-match presentation.
Despite the record-breaking totals in IPL 17, Bumrah has been the most economic bowler with an economy rate of 5.96.
"Obviously this format is a little difficult for the bowlers because the batsmanship is going up. With the time restrictions [over-rate penalties] as well as the Impact Player rule, that does not help the bowler too much because the batting line-up becomes deeper and deeper and the bowler becomes half the bowler when you get an extra option.
But I feel like all of those things are not in your control. What you can do is try to prepare to the best of your ability and back yourself in any situation because all of that will then put you in a good space of mind and you can go out there and execute with a smile on your face,” Bumrah added.
Bumrah was asked whether his teammates looked to him to provide guidance.
"Whenever there's an opportunity. I do relay a message from wherever I am. But sometimes in the heat of the moment, it's difficult to pass on a lot of messages," Bumrah said. "But yes, I am always there if anybody needs help because you don't want to give too many messages as well because the bowler is already under pressure and when too many messages come, you don't land here or there, you land in the middle,” he signed off.
(Star Sports inputs)
