Jasprit Bumrah, who returned from a three-month injury layoff, encouraged his Mumbai Indians teammates after their painful 12-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Bumrah was playing his first match since missing the final day of the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney with a back ailment. While he failed to pick a wicket, Bumrah’s return was a huge boost to the MI camp.

MI asked RCB to bat first after winning the toss, and RCB responded by posting 221/5. Virat Kohli (67), Rajat Patidar (64), and Jitesh Sharma (40 *) were the main contributors for RCB.

In response, after the top order failed to contribute significantly, Tilka Varma (56) and Hardik Pandya (42) almost brought MI to the cusp of a famous win. However, Patidar’s brilliant use of his bowlers in death overs led to RCB winning the match by 12 runs in the end.

Bumrah conceded only 29 runs in his four overs. He was the only Mumbai bowler to average less than 10 runs per over. He was awarded the MI badge as their player of significance in the match. After the presentation in the dressing room, Bumrah had some encouraging words to say to his teammates.

"It felt really good. But unfortunately, that's how T20 cricket goes. The competition is still on. We can get on a roll, and we have to believe we can get on a roll. We are playing good cricket, and when we regroup in Delhi, we should be fresh and ready to go, believing we can turn things around and give it our best shot," Bumrah said in a video shared by MI on social media.

"Having him (Bumrah) makes any team in the world very special. He came in and did his job, and I'm very happy to have him,” Pandya stated.

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene said Bumrah is in "good nick" following his three-month injury layoff, and Mumbai Indians want to ease him back into competition mode in the IPL.

"I just spoke to him after the game, and he looks in good nick. He's disappointed, as we all are, because he wanted a win on his return, but other than that, he looks fine. His pace was up, and his execution was good. (Having Bumrah back) just gives us more options. We have two swing bowlers, and we need to give them that opportunity first up. Boom (Bumrah) is coming back from a three-month layoff, so we just wanted to ease him back into the competition," the MI head coach said.

MI will next face DC in Delhi on Sunday, April 13.