Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 13 : Following Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) win over five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI), South Africa batting veteran Faf Du Plessis said that the Blue and Gold side needs to find answers for their poor bowling performances beyond pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's four overs and need to maximise the superstar bowler by using him at key stages.
The struggles continued for five-time champions and Bumrah, as half-centuries from Phil Salt, Virat Kohli and skipper Rajat Patidar took RCB to 240/4, which proved to be a match-winning total as, despite an impactful 71* in just 31 balls, with one four and nine sixes, MI fell 18 runs short and ended their innings at 222/5.
Bumrah's wicketless run in the IPL, dating back to qualifier two of the last season, continued as MI bowlers had to toil hard for each wicket, be it overcoming Kohli's steady presence at the crease or trying to stop a non-stop barrage of fours and sixes by Salt and Patidar. Bumrah has been wicketless for the past five of his IPL matches and has gone 122 balls without any wickets, his longest wicket-less stretch in tournament history.
MI has dropped to eighth spot in the points table with just one win in their four matches, with Bumrah's struggles to get wickets playing a big part in their downfall.
Speaking on Star Sports 'Cricket Live', JioStar expert Du Plessis said that MI needs to find answers about their poor bowling beyond Bumrah's four overs and needs to reassess their approach, especially in the powerplay, be it bringing changes tactic-wise or in the playing XI.
"When you look at that bowling attack, especially in high-scoring games of 250 or more, you have to assess what the rest of the attack is conceding beyond Bumrah's four overs, which are usually very economical. That's where the Mumbai Indians need to find answers. They need to maximise Bumrah's impact by using him at key stages, but it doesn't get any easier with strong batting line-ups continuing to dominate. They will need to sit down and reassess their approach, particularly in the Powerplay, whether that involves tactical changes or bringing in different personnel," he said.
Speaking on Sherfane's explosive innings, he said that the southpaw has been excellent over the last year and a half.
"This performance does not come as a surprise. He has delivered consistently across T20 leagues and has significantly improved his game. Earlier, he had some struggles in certain match-ups, but he has worked on those areas and is now much more assured," he added.
Since the start of last year, Rutherford has been among the top T20 batters worldwide, with 1,982 runs in 87 innings at an average of 30.49 and a strike rate of 153.28, with seven fifties and a best score of 86.
Also, JioStar expert Sunil Gavaskar spoke on MI's batting performance, saying that MI went into a shell after Rohit Sharma retired hurt due to injury, and Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Verma fell in quick succession, and they need to keep the required run-rate in check.
"At one stage, it looked like the Mumbai Indians would struggle to reach 200. After Rohit Sharma's retirement and the dismissals of Rickelton and Tilak Varma in the same over, they went into a shell and were unable to break free. They needed to score at least 12 runs more to stay on track with the required rate, but they could not manage that. Even while on a rotating strike, the required rate kept climbing. That is an area they need to address. As Hardik Pandya mentioned, both their batting and bowling Powerplays are not yielding the kind of results needed to take control of the game," he added.
The legendary Indian batter praised RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, saying that winning the trophy last year has made him "far more settled and confident".
"Last year, leading RCB for the first time, Rajat Patidar may have had some nerves, especially with players like Virat Kohli in the side. That could have impacted him. This season, after winning the championship, he looks far more settled and confident. He is playing with complete freedom and producing some outstanding cricket. The range of shots he is displaying across the ground has been particularly impressive," he said.
Against spin this season, Patidar has faced 59 balls, scoring 129 runs at a strike rate of 218.94, with nine fours and 11 sixes, being dismissed twice. Against pace, he has made 66 in 32 balls, with a strike rate of 206.25, including two fours and seven sixes, being dismissed once. Patidar is the joint-highest six-hitter with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (18) this season and is the second-highest run-getter, with 195 runs in four innings at an average of 65.00 and a strike rate of 214.28, with two fifties.
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