Kieron Pollard imitates Jasprit Bumrah after MI coach Jayawardene fails to attract Hardik Pandya’s attention from dugout
Jasprit Bumrah is marking a gradual return back to competitive cricket, back in action for Mumbai Indians after missing over three months of cricket due to a back injury sustained on the tour of Australia. Bumrah produced figures of 1-21 in his four overs against the dangerous batting unit of Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium, a typical Bumrah performance as he kept things quiet and also took the crucial wicket of hard-hitting Protean Heinrich Klaasen.
With Bumrah returning to lead the MI attack, cameras captured a funny moment from the MI dugout during their bowling innings against SRH. With Bumrah having bowled two overs in the powerplay, he returned in the 16th over to deliver his third over. However, fans noticed that Hardik Pandya’s decision to bring Bumrah back came from the thinktank.
In particular, MI coach Mahela Jayawardene and batting coach Kieron Pollard were seen imitating Bumrah’s action as they tried to mime a message to Pandya. Pollard, a former teammate of both Pandya and Bumrah, can in particular be seen mimicking Bumrah’s distinctive action in a funny manner, making it clear to the MI captain who he would like to see brought on to bowl in that moment.
Additionally, with Pollard imitating Bumrah’s unique run-up and bowling form from the dugout, Rohit Sharma can be seen to the side of the screen smiling along to the West Indian’s actions. Rohit was used as an impact sub by MI, meaning he was on the bench for the first innings, only coming out to bat later on in MI’s chase.
MI ease to victory over SRH
Bumrah’s over in the 16th over of the SRH innings only went for 7 runs, as MI managed to choke the run-flow of a powerful SRH batting unit by bowling tight lines and lengths on a slightly slow and tacky surface at the Wankhede.
However, Bumrah’s final over of the night was even better. Coming back in the 19th over, he uprooted Klaasen’s off stump with a low full-toss, right after the South African had taken down the previous over for 21 runs. Bumrah only conceded 4 overs from the 19th over, meaning that even while the other MI bowlers were expensive at the death, SRH could only score 162/5 in their innings.
In response, useful cameos throughout MI’s top order ensured they didn’t complicate their chase, even as a couple of late wickets delayed their winning moment. With the win over SRH, MI climb up to six points, as they try for a charge up the IPL table.