Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Mohammed Siraj turned into a fanboy as Jasprit Bumrah’s masterclass proved to be the difference-maker for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Thursday. Bumrah leaked just 21 runs in his quota of 4 overs while picking 5 wickets as MI restricted RCB to 196/8 at the Wankhede Stadium. As fan all across the globe doffed their hats to Bumrah, even his counterpart on the day, Mohammed Siraj, gave the senior pacer his regards by bowing down in front of him after the match. (IPL 2024 Points Table)
In a high-scoring match, where other Mumbai Indians pacers like Gerald Coetzee, Akash Madhwal, Romario Shepherd and Hardik Pandya conceded over 10 runs per over, Bumrah operated at an economy rate of 5.20. If it wasn’t for Bumrah’s masterclass on the field, RCB might have gone on to score over 220 runs in the match.
Mohammed Siraj, Bumrah’s teammate at the national level, on the other hand, leaked 37 runs in 3 overs without picking a single wicket. After the game, as Siraj had the opportunity to meet Bumrah, he bowed down in front of the MI superstar. Here’s the video:
Even RCB captain Faf du Plessis admitted at the end that it’s been quite difficult to put Bumrah under pressure. The South Africa was even left to dream how things could be for his franchise if the MI star was playing for the Bengaluru side.
“Every time you see him with the ball in his hand, you think you’ll have to put him under pressure,” Du Plessis said about Bumrah after the match. “But he has so many skills, bowls well under pressure, he bowls with the same action and has a lot of variations. I think he has become even better under the guidance of Lasith Malinga. We would have loved if he was part of our team (smiles).”
About his own team, Du Plessis admitted that RCB bowling unit isn’t up to the mark.
“We will have to find ways with the bat, get those big scores, we know our bowling is not our strongest suit, but we’ll have to find ways to manage it, we’ll have to be creative, go hard with the bat and make most of the first 4-5 overs with the bat,” he asserted.
