Wicketless Bumrah, lack of support: MI's bowling woes continue unabated

On the eve of Mumbai Indians' fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kieron Pollard was confident that Jasprit Bumrah will rediscover his mojo. He said, "For us, it's about coming together as one and getting the desired result at the end of the day. Otherwise, you start looking into different things and creating narratives that aren't really there. For us, he's fine: he's fit, he's firing. And for your sake, I hope he picks up five wickets tomorrow."

It proved to be wishful thinking on the part of the Mumbai Indians batting coach, as Bumrah's barren run continued unabated. He returned figures of 0 for 35, and Mumbai Indians were handed a resounding loss by the visitors at home at the Wankhede.

Bumrah has now gone wicketless in five consecutive IPL games, spanning 122 deliveries, and is yet to open his account this season. There are at least five bowlers, including Mohammed Shami, Brijesh Sharma and Lungi Ngidi, who boast better economy rates than the MI spearhead.

The problem for Mumbai Indians is not so much Bumrah's form. Wicketless he may be, but he has still been their best bowler this season - and was so again on Sunday night. RCB ran up a near-insurmountable 240 for 4, scoring at 12 an over, but Bumrah returned with an economy of 8.75, the best among the MI bowlers.

The real concern has been the lack of support from the other end. Trent Boult, a veteran of 123 matches and 146 wickets across 12 seasons, has managed just one scalp so far. Otherwise renowned as a first-over and breakthrough specialist, he has yet to make his characteristic impact.

"It would be unfair to blame Bumrah for the lack of wickets. It's a team game, and in T20 cricket, wickets come through sustained pressure. If you look at Krunal Pandya (1 for 26) and Suyash Sharma (2 for 47), they picked up wickets because there was pressure from Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the other end. Bumrah hasn't had that kind of support," Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube show, explaining the situation within Mumbai Indians and their loss to RCB..

There is not a single Mumbai Indians bowler among the top ten wicket-takers this season. Overall, MI have managed just 14 wickets in four matches, while Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans have claimed 32 and 27 respectively. RCB have picked up 28 wickets in four games. MI's struggles are not confined to a lack of wickets - the issues run deeper. They have the worst average (55.0), strike rate (29.6), and economy rate (11.13) among all teams. They also have the lowest dot-ball percentage and the highest boundary percentage in the competition.

"I think in the last couple of games, as a bowling unit or even as a batting unit, we've been quite catching up in the game rather than leading the game. We really need to reflect, really need to see what best we can do and how we can get that momentum and that click which we require. We have a couple of days off from here and we will play again," Hardik Pandya, MI skipper, said reflecting on the team's bowling situation. The most successful MI bowler is Shardul Thakur, who has five wickets in four games with an economy rate of 13.45.

"It's definitely not a concern, to be honest. The opposition have batted well, and I think we need to give credit where it's due. As I said, it's just small margins for us-maybe a couple of field changes here or there-but I don't think it has much to do with our bowlers. It's more about executing better and continuing to improve," Sherfane Rutherford, MI's highest scorer of the night (71 not out), said.

Bumrah is 10th on the economy-rate (8.20) charts, but the lack of wickets from the lead bowler has hurt Mumbai Indians, who have lost three of their four games. A breakthrough at a crucial stage might have prevented RCB from piling up an imposing 240 for 4. MI conceded 71 runs in the Powerplay and 53 at the death - an improvement on previous performances considering they have the second-worst death-bowling record this season (behind Rajasthan Royals), averaging 33 across 13.1 overs and managing just four wickets.

On Sunday, Mumbai Indians went down by 18 runs, conceding four overs of 20-plus runs - 23 in the 13th, 20 in the 12th, 20 in the eighth, and 22 in the fifth. In contrast, Mumbai managed only two big overs: 21 in the 18th and 26 in the final over, the latter coming after the outcome had effectively been decided. It was Mumbai's third defeat on the trot, following their jinx-breaking win in the season opener.

"Yeah, definitely not the best start, but as I said, it's not how you start, it's how you move forward. It's about how we take the learnings. We need to go back to the drawing board, focus on the small margins, and come back stronger as a team. We're a good side, and three games don't make us a bad one. It's a 14-game season, and there's still a long way to go," Rutherford said looking ahead.

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