IPL 2020 | Bumrah wanted to take the new ball, and back his strengths, states Shane Bond
Mumbai Indians' bowling coach Shane Bond revealed that Jasprit Bumrah was keen on taking the new ball and back his strengths that lie in bowling yorkers and bouncers. Bumrah had the best game of the season so far, against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, in Abu Dhabi as he ended up taking four wickets.
The thing with champions is you just can't keep them out of the game for too long. After Jasprit Bumrah looked a little off-colour in the first few games, he finally bounced back strongly against Rajasthan Royals and turned heads on Tuesday as he picked four wickets including that of Rajasthan Royals skipper Steven Smith with a peach of a delivery and cleaning up dangerman Rahul Tewatia, showcasing who's the boss. He also didn't let Rajasthan's wagging tail come to play as he dismissed the hard-hitting Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal, who can be decent with the bat.
Speaking in post-match presser, MI bowling coach and former Kiwi fast bowler Shane Bond revealed that Bumrah was keen to bowl in the first few overs and back his strengths. Generally, he hasn't been used the new ball early on, but Mumbai Indians wanted to use this world-class bowler's offensive skills as they very well knew that it was RR's top-order that could have changed the course of the game.
"Jasprit genuinely wanted to take the new ball. So there was a discussion that went on last night and this morning," Bond said. "We probably used him in a more defensive way - at the back end of the powerplay. There was a bit of grass around for him to nip it around. We knew Rajasthan's key players were at the top of the order. We wanted to give him the opportunity to go out there, take the new ball and get us some wickets. Today, he was sensational," Bond stated in the post-match presser.
Bumrah finished with brilliant figures of 4 for 20 - his best of the season - as Royals were bundled out for 136, chasing a mammoth 194 after Suryakumar Yadav made a remarkable 79*. Bond also asserted that it takes time for players to return back to their best.
"It takes four-five games for players to get back into the groove of things, the way we operate, the things we are looking for as a team. Jasprit, by his own admission, has done well. One or two overs, he hasn't been as accurate as he wants to be.
"We had a discussion pre-game, he wanted to back his yorkers and go back to his strengths and use his bouncers as he normally does. That's the strength of Jasprit, when he has a performance that he is totally happy with, he seems to bounce back to a new level. I know traditionally through the IPL, he gets better and better as the tournament goes on. He is a key member for us. Obviously, the way we used him today with the new ball, we will use him like that throughout the tournament against the rest of the teams."
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