Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma brought his go-to bowler in order to counter Andre Russell in Friday’s clash against Kolkata Knight Riders. The move paid off as Bumrah got the better of the hard-hitter.
In the 11th over of the game, Bumrah aimed at Russell’s rib-cage - an area which the Jamaican is yet to fix. The batter isn’t the best customer against short balls or anything that comes shooting towards his body. However, Russell gave the impression that he is well prepared this time, having lost his wicket to the same pacer in the previous encounter.
He hit a square-cut to fetch a boundary but kept shuffling away from the stumps in order to tackle a certain short delivery. Bumrah didn’t waste much time and bowled one short; Russell was caught off-guard while backing away and it resulted in his dismissal.
The rivalry between the two continues to be a talking point. Bumrah has now dismissed the KKR batter on three occasions in 34 balls, conceding mere 44 runs.
“I believe a lot in match-ups, we have got success as a team (doing it) - understanding the match-ups is important but we need to be instinctive at times. Krunal and Rahul also bowled to Russell, I took a chance with the ball gripping and turning, but I knew Bumrah was the go-to guy against him.” Rohit said post the match.
KKR were in tatters at one stage. Pat Cummins and Eoin Morgan put on a rescue act to take the total to 148/5. Mumbai made light work of it, winning the contest by eight wickets and with more than three overs to spare.
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