Jasprit Bumrah against Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024, New York (Source: AFP)
The pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, has been a key asset for India across all formats, owing to his brilliant, unplayable bowling. He has been a frontline pacer for India in the shortest format of the game since his debut in 2016. He is currently the second-leading wicket-taker for India in T20Is, with 103 wickets in 80 innings across 83 games.
Out of his 103 T20I wickets for India, Bumrah has picked 84 wickets in the winning cause, being the leading wicket-taker for India in the won games. It also translates into the fact that he has been one of the key match-winners for India in the T20Is.
Apart from his excellence in the international cricket, Bumrah has been one of the key performers in IPL. Notably, Bumrah, being the leading wicket-taker (183 wickets) for the Mumbai Indians since his debut in 2013, also advocates the fact that he is the most valuable player for the five-time IPL champions.
Hence, let’s have a look at the five best spells bowled by Jasprit Bumrah in the shortest format, be it in international cricket or in IPL.
Jasprit Bumrah’s five best spells in T20s
5. 2/18 vs South Africa - Bridgetown T20I, World Cup 2024 Final
Most of the Indian cricket fans had lost hope in the T20 World Cup 2024 final when South Africa were easily cruising towards the 177-run target. But, 1 billion hopes were ignited again when the skipper Rohit Sharma introduced Jasprit Bumrah into the attack in the death overs.
Bumrah ended his four-over spell, picking two wickets for just 18 runs, with a brilliant economy rate of 4.50 to play a vital role in India’s thrilling seven-run win. He was one of the game-changers who helped India win the T20 World Cup title after a 17-year wait.
The star pacer was also the second leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 15 wickets in eight innings, following Fazalhaq Farooqi and Arshdeep Singh (17 wickets each).
4. 3/14 vs Pakistan - New York T20I, World Cup 2024, 19th game
Rohit Sharma’s India were facing the arch-rivals, Pakistan, in their campaign opener in the T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and asked India to bat first in New York. The Indian batters struggled against Pakistan's bowling attack and were bowled out at 119 runs in 19 overs.
Indian hopes were looking shattered when Mohammad Rizwan and Imad Wasim were there in the middle, with Pakistan’s score at 80 runs for the loss of three wickets in 14 overs. But what changed the entire course of the game was the first ball of the 15th over, bowled by Jasprit Bumrah. It was the start of the ‘fall of wickets’ for the Men in Green. Earlier in the innings, Bumrah had also dismissed Pakistan skipper Babar Azam in the fifth over.
Later in the innings, Bumrah dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed on the last ball of the 19th over to give Pakistan another blow. Bumrah ended up with the fantastic figures of ‘three wickets for just 14 runs in his four overs, with an economy of just 3.50’. Eventually, India won the game by a narrow margin of six runs, and Jasprit Bumrah won the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
3. 3/7 vs Afghanistan - Bridgetown T20I, World Cup 2024, Super-Eight
Undoubtedly, the T20 World Cup 2024 was the tournament in which Jasprit Bumrah enjoyed the ‘form of his life’. In one of the Super Eight games against Afghanistan, Bumrah registered the best bowling figures of his career. India won the toss and decided to bat against Afghanistan in the 43rd match of the tournament.
India scored 181 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs courtesy of Suryakumar Yadav’s 28-ball 53, followed by Hardik Pandya’s 32-run knock. Later in the second innings, Bumrah bowled a sensational spell, picking three wickets for just seven runs in four overs, including a maiden over with an unbelievable economy rate of 1.75. On the back of his spell, alongside Arshdeep Singh’s 3/36, India bowled out Afghanistan at just 134 runs in 20 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his sensational and match-winning performance.
2. 5/10 vs KKR - IPL 2022 - Match 56, Mumbai
The Mumbai Indians were facing the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 56th game of IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on May 9, 2022. The then-MI skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited KKR to bat first. KKR’s top three looked in good touch, but it was Jasprit Bumrah who destroyed their middle and lower middle order.
Bumrah bowled the best-ever spell of his 12-year-long IPL career, across 13 editions. He claimed a sensational five-wicket haul, picking five wickets for just 10 runs in his four overs, including a maiden over. However, his efforts went in vain as the Mumbai Indians failed to chase the target. Still, Bumrah won the ‘Player of the Match’ award despite his side’s defeat.
1. 5/21 vs RCB - IPL 2024 - Match 25, Mumbai
It was the 25th game of IPL 2024, in which the Mumbai Indians hosted the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. MI won the toss and asked RCB to bat first. RCB were moving ahead comfortably towards a big total before Jasprit Bumrah launched a counterattack with his outstanding bowling performance.
Bumrah ended up claiming his IPL career’s second five-wicket haul, picking five wickets for just 21 runs in his four-over spell, with an economy rate of just 5.25. RCB’s score that would be past 200 was restricted to 196 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs, owing to Bumrah’s five-wicket haul.
Later in the second innings, the Mumbai Indians comfortably chased down the total in 15.3 overs, scoring 199 runs for the loss of just three wickets, and won the game by seven wickets. Jasprit Bumrah won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his decisive five-wicket haul.
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