Jasprit Bumrah's Purple Cap shouldn't camouflage red flags in MI's bowling

As Jasprit Bumrah castled Rilee Rossouw with a fuller delivery that swung late, his trademark smile was followed by a 'That's just what I do' shrug of the shoulders as Mumbai Indians (MI) fielders joined him in celebration.

And why wouldn't he feel so? Jasprit Bumrah is at the peak of his powers and everything he touches turns to gold. With good support from Gerald Coetzee at the other end, Mumbai ran riot in the powerplay and had Punjab Kings (PBKS) 14/4 in their first four overs.

Surely, surely, this time MI could afford to think of a big win with the target being 193. Surely the thought of net run rate was lingering at the back of Hardik Pandya's mind. Right? Wrong.

After getting two sensational overs in the powerplay from his star bowler, Hardik wouldn't have thought of bowling Jasprit Bumrah again before the death. But to break a threatening partnership between Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, the Mumbai skipper had to take the risk of leaving Bumrah with just one over in the backend.

From being 14/4 while chasing 193, how did PBKS manage to get MI into a situation where they had to withdraw an over from the bank that was Jasprit Bumrah? Surely there's a massive red flag they need to address.

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Hardik and Boucher's questionable handling of Mohammad Nabi and Romario Shepherd

Hardik Pandya was confident to start with Mohammad Nabi with the ball in the two recent games at the Wankhede Stadium, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The batters on strike for the two games were Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, both right-handers.

The general match-up in T20s suggests that a left-hander at the top of the order makes it ideal for an off-spinner as they take the ball away. With Sam Curran, a southpaw, facing the first ball on a pitch with a bit of grip, it made complete sense to give Nabi the first over again and thereby take an over out from the fifth bowler's quota. Nope. Didn't happen.

In hindsight, Pandya's move made some sense as Coetzee bagged Prabhsimran Singh's wicket with a strangle down the leg side. Nabi could also have gone for plenty and then the argument made by the writer would have been deemed illogical. But the Afghanistan all-rounder not bowling even once in the game puts a question mark over his role in the team.

Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal bowled a tight over and took a sensational catch of Harpreet Bhatia off his bowling. But he was then pumped for two sixes by Shashank Singh in his next over and suddenly skipper Hardik lost faith in Gopal, who didn't complete his quota of four overs. Who did he turn to? Romario Shepherd.

With new batter Ashutosh Sharma at the crease, Romario greeted him with a nothing delivery down the leg side, which the former gleefully accepted and deposited the ball into the stands over fine leg. A dream first delivery for a new batter.

In 10 overs in IPL 2024 so far, the West Indies all-rounder has conceded an eye-watering 129 runs at an economy rate of 12.90. Nabi, who gave just 19 runs in three overs in his previous game, wasn't deemed the better option of the two. All this when Hardik himself had to complete his quota of four overs as the game went deep.

The argument that 'batting depth liberates the top order' in T20 cricket is logical and rightly so. But how many balls have Nabi and Romario faced in the entire season so far? Four for Nabi and 20 for Romario. Does that justify the inclusion of both in their XI? Surely they need an extra seamer as explained by the writer in an earlier feature.

MI have seven bowling options on paper, but the captain cannot trust three or probably four to complete their quota on most days. The fact that Ashutosh Sharma and PBKS almost pulled off a heist from a near-impossible situation should ring alarm bells in the MI think tank.

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Jasprit Bumrah and the new ball conundrum

Several cricket pundits and commentators on air have been crying out loud for MI to use Jasprit Bumrah's two overs upfront. The same was seen with his dismissals of Sam Curran and Rilee Rossouw, with Kevin Pietersen criticizing Mumbai on air for waiting too long to give Bumrah the new ball.

Jasprit Bumrah has sensational numbers in the powerplay for MI, with 36 wickets at an economy rate of 6.51. Out of the 1104 deliveries he has bowled in the powerplay in the IPL, a staggering 580 have been dot balls, which goes to show why his role is such a hot topic.

However, what many tend to forget is that Jasprit Bumrah cannot bowl more than four overs. Similar debates were had during IPL 2022, where MI finished rock bottom and the likes of Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat and Daniel Sams couldn't provide the much-needed support to Bumrah.

A season later, Akash Madhwal's breakout performances, coupled with Bumrah's absence, made MI fans dream of IPL 2024, where the two could bowl in tandem. Madhwal picked up three wickets in his first game of the ongoing season, but things have gone downhill since.

An overall economy rate of 11.28 is a massive worry for MI as Madhwal seems to be a shadow of himself from last year. Coetzee has been the only real support for Bumrah with 12 wickets in seven games. However, he too has an economy rate of 9.92.

In a day-and-age where batting line-ups keep getting deeper in the IPL with the Impact Player rule, Jasprit Bumrah's 13 wickets at an economy rate of 5.96 put daylight between him and not just other MI bowlers, but also across franchises. But he is after all a human and is due an off day, and Mumbai don't seem prepared for it with this bowling line-up.

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Jasprit Bumrah's champion mentality is reflected in his reply to a question about how modern-day T20 cricket is getting tougher for the bowlers.

"What you can do is try to prepare to the best of your ability and back yourself in any situation because all of that will then put you in a good space of mind and you can go out there and execute with a smile on your face," said Bumrah in the post-match presentation, wearing the Purple Cap again.

To ensure Bumrah gets two overs with the new ball and consistently, MI need to add reinforcements to their bowling attack. They have to pick one between Nabi and Shepherd and get an overseas quick in.

The argument that Mumbai have been unlucky with injuries to Jason Behrendorff and Dilshan Madushanka is valid. But giving Luke Wood just one game, throwing the young Kwena Maphaka in the cauldron straightaway and not unleashing their X-factor of Nuwan Thushara are decisions the MI management will have to take responsibility for.

Ashutosh Sharma has been a predominantly leg-side hitter. Yet, on a pitch where the cutters were gripping, Coetzee and Madhwal tried round-the-wicket angle, delivering slot balls that were deposited in the stands both in the front of the wicket and behind it. The PBKS batter would have possibly not believed his luck, getting such gifts of deliveries.

Hardik Pandya did speak in the post-match presentation about the 'soft balls' that the MI bowlers gave away at the backend of the chase. It will be interesting to see if he changes the plans or personnel with another massive game coming up against the Rajasthan Royals.

It has to be a combination of the captain and coach getting their balance right and the bowlers already in the XI providing Bumrah enough support.

Jasprit Bumrah's 3/21 against PBKS showed that he continues to be an anomaly in this MI bowling attack. His second wind has been sensational. But MI need not make him carry the bowling attack just because his lower back is in great condition and add more metaphorical back pressure with the workload. There's still time to use resources on the bench to avoid the usage of calculators in the near future.