On the eve of Mumbai Indians’ match versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kieron Pollard backed Jasprit Bumrah to rediscover his rhythm. The Mumbai batting coach framed it as a collective challenge: stay together, stay focused, and let the result follow—while adding a hopeful wish that Bumrah would strike with the ball the next day. That optimism, however, did not translate into breakthroughs at the Wankhede.
Quick facts
- Bumrah’s spell: 0/35 (4) against RCB at the Wankhede
- RCB’s total: 240/4, built at roughly 12 runs per over
- MI’s wicketless run: Bumrah has taken no wickets in five straight IPL matches across 122 deliveries
- MI’s overall wicket haul: 14 wickets in four matches
- MI team bowling comparison: Rajasthan Royals (32) and Gujarat Titans (27) have taken more wickets than MI (28 for RCB in four games)
- Next fixture: Mumbai Indians host Punjab Kings on Thursday
Bumrah’s return—0 for 35—extended a frustrating sequence that has now stretched across five consecutive IPL games. He remains wicketless for the season and has yet to open his account. The wider issue for Mumbai is not simply that Bumrah is missing wickets; several other bowlers are outperforming him on economy, including Mohammed Shami, Brijesh Sharma and Lungi Ngidi.
Even with the barren wicket column, Bumrah has still been Mumbai’s most effective bowler this season. On Sunday night, he again delivered the best economy among MI’s options, conceding at 8.75 despite RCB’s aggressive platform. RCB’s innings, which surged to 240 for 4, looked difficult to counter from early on as their scoring rate hovered near the 12-an-over mark.
Pressure, not just pace
Trent Boult, a bowler with 123 appearances and 146 wickets across 12 seasons, has also struggled to make early inroads. So far, he has managed only one wicket in this IPL. Known for first-over impact and sudden breakthroughs, Boult has not yet produced the kind of sustained pressure spells that typically tilt T20 contests.
Ravichandran Ashwin offered a sharper diagnosis on his YouTube show, arguing that it would be unfair to treat Bumrah’s wicket drought as a standalone failure. In T20 cricket, Ashwin said, wickets tend to arrive through ongoing pressure created across overs. He pointed to examples from Mumbai’s own bowling—Krunal Pandya (1 for 26) and Suyash Sharma (2 for 47) taking wickets only because there was pressure at the other end, supplied by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Without that supporting threat, the lead bowler’s efforts are harder to convert into wickets.
In the same stretch, Bumrah’s last five IPL innings read: 0/40 (4) vs PBKS in Ahmedabad in 2025; 0/35 (4) vs KKR at the Wankhede in 2026; 0/21 (4) vs DC in Delhi in 2026; 0/32 (3) vs RR in Guwahati in 2026; and 0/35 (4) vs RCB at the Wankhede in 2026.
The wicket picture for Mumbai is bleak beyond Bumrah. There is not a single Mumbai bowler among the top ten wicket-takers in the season so far. Across four matches, MI have taken just 14 wickets, while Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans have claimed 32 and 27 respectively. RCB, by contrast, have picked up 28 wickets in the same four-game window.
It is not only about wicket counts—Mumbai’s overall bowling metrics underline the depth of the problem. MI sit at the bottom of the table for bowling average (55.0), strike rate (29.6), and economy rate (11.13) among all teams. They also have the league’s lowest dot-ball percentage and the highest boundary percentage, trends that typically make even well-directed bowling feel expensive.
Hardik Pandya, Mumbai’s skipper, addressed the team’s rhythm after the defeat. He said the recent games have felt like the side has been “catching up” rather than setting the tone—either as a bowling unit or even as a batting unit. With a couple of days off before the next match, he stressed the need to reflect on what is possible and find the momentum the team is missing.
Shardul Thakur has been the standout among Mumbai’s current crop, taking five wickets in four games. His economy rate stands at 13.45, a figure that still shows the gap between containing runs and taking wickets, but he has offered the most consistent threat.
Sherfane Rutherford, who was Mumbai’s top scorer with 71 not out, pushed back on the idea that the bowling problem is solely down to the bowlers. He suggested the opposition has batted well and deserves credit. Rutherford argued that often these are small-margin issues—field changes, execution details—and that the focus should remain on improving and tightening the plan rather than chasing one-ticket explanations.
Bumrah is positioned 10th on the economy-rate chart at 8.20, yet Mumbai’s lack of wickets has compounded their losses. They have dropped three of their four matches. A breakthrough at a critical moment could have prevented RCB from building a near-impossible 240 for 4.
MI’s breakdown inside the innings showed two key phases. They conceded 71 runs in the Powerplay and 53 at the death, an improvement compared to earlier outings. Still, Mumbai’s death-bowling record remains their second-worst this season, sitting behind Rajasthan Royals. On average, they have allowed 33 runs across 13.1 overs in that phase and managed only four wickets.
In the same vein, the Sunday match exposed a recurring pattern of expensive overs. Mumbai conceded four overs of 20-plus runs—23 in the 13th over, 20 in the 12th, 20 in the eighth, and 22 in the fifth. When Mumbai did find their rhythm, the big overs were limited: 21 in the 18th and 26 in the final over, with the second of those coming after the result had effectively been decided.
The loss marked Mumbai’s third defeat in a row, coming after their jinx-breaking win in the season opener. Rutherford framed the setback as an early stumble rather than a verdict on the campaign. He said it is not about how the season begins, but how the team responds—returning to the “drawing board,” focusing on small margins, and coming back stronger. With a 14-game season still in front of them, he insisted there is plenty of time to turn things around.
Mumbai Indians now turn their attention to their next assignment, with a home game against Punjab Kings scheduled for Thursday.
