- Sunday, April 20, 2025
The pacer became only the second bowler after Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, who had also played for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, to achieve the feat at the iconic venue.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WHENEVER he takes up the ball from his captain, his team feels assured. Friday (3) was no exception as Jasprit Bumrah came out with a late burst of wickets after bowling tight to help Mumbai Indians (MI) restrict Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 169 runs inside 20 overs in a crucial game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
The 29-year-old put a brake on KKR’s scoring rates to finish with three wickets for 18 runs in 3.5 overs and his scalps included Venkatesh Iyer who held the Kolkata innings together by scoring a well-crafted 70 in 52 balls. Bumrah’s feat saw him becoming the second bowler in the history of IPL to complete 50 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium, MI’s home venue. The three wickets also earned him the purple cap as he is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament at the moment with 17 scalps, two more than T Natarajan of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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Only Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, who had also played for Mumbai once and is now the franchise’s bowling coach, is the first with 68 wickets at the same ground. According to ESPNcricinfo, the Indian speedster took 41 matches to complete the haul at the Wankhede. He also took a fifer at the same ground against Royal Challengers Bengaluru featuring ace Indian batter Virat Kohli last month.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was once an MI regular, was in the third spot with 53 wickets.
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Overall, Bumrah is the ninth highest wicket-taker in the IPL with 162 scalps in 131 matches at an economy rate of 7.29 and will need nine more to overtake Malinga who has 170.
In T20s, Bumrah has 274 wickets in 222 outings at an impressive average of less than seven.
