Jasprit Bumrah’s first wicket in the Indian Premier League has been played over so many times. It was a special one. After being hit for three fours in his first over, he picked up the wicket of Virat Kohli on debut off the fifth ball he bowled. The reaction was one of an angry young fast bowler, celebrating a prized wicket.
But since that day in 2013, he has come a long way. As an elite all-format fast bowler, Bumrah’s rarely angry on the field these days and when he picked up the 100th wicket in IPL by dismissing Kohli yet again, the trademark smile was there for all to see.
He is still super aggressive, but Bumrah’s on-field demeanour is not that of a typical fast bowler any longer.
In his first match, Bumrah took 3 for 32 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He then had Kohli lbw off his fifth ball, and celebrated exuberantly. “He had hit me for three boundaries in that over and so I was angry,” Bumrah was quoted as saying after the match. “I am always like this on the field.”
And in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, he picked up a brilliant three-for again, starting with Kohli’s wicket that was his 100th.
He finished with figures of 4-1-14-3. A superb spell of bowling that severely dented RCB’s chances of putting a big total on the board.
Bumrah’s 100th wicket:
Bumrah’s first wicket:
Bumrah’s debut spell and interview: