MI vs RCB: How does Virat Kohli fare against Bumrah?
The Indian Premier League 2021 will be underway tonight at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore in what is going to be the clash of titans. All eyes will be on the riveting battle between RCB skipper Virat Kohli and MI pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Let us analyze Kohli's IPL performance against Bumrah.
A look at the battle between the two
Kohli is IPL's leading run-scorer with 5,878 runs from 192 matches at 38.16. On the other hand, Bumrah owns 109 wickets in 92 matches, including a best match haul of 4/14. So far, Kohli has managed to score 115 runs off 78 balls by Bumrah, while Bumrah has dismissed him thrice. This competition between two of India's best players has been neck-to-neck.
Kohli has an impressive average in the powerplay overs
Recently, Kohli stated that he will open the innings in the 2021 IPL season. This means he will have to face the searing delivering of Bumrah at the start. It is interesting to note that Kohli owns 1,724 IPL runs at an average of 40.09 in the powerplay overs (0-6). In 2020, he scored 81 runs in the first six overs from 15 matches.
Bumrah isn't much effective in powerplay as per numbers
Numbers suggest that Kohli has a greater chance of dominating Bumrah in the powerplay overs. As of now, Bumrah has taken only 20 wickets from 92 matches at an average of 34.55 in the powerplay. Instead, he fares better at the death.
Kohli was beaten by fast bowlers in 2020
Kohli certainly improved his footwork against spinners in the IPL 2020. As a result, he fell to spinners only twice, having scored 220 runs against them. Paradoxically, the fast bowlers managed to get the better of him last season. The dismissed him as many as nine times throughout the season. Meanwhile, Kohli amassed 243 runs against pacers (5 sixes and 16 fours).
Will Bumrah outfox Kohli this time?
Although Kohli hasn't registered any big international score of late, he still has been among runs. In 2020, RCB qualified claimed the playoffs berth for the first time since 2016. Kohli smashed 466 runs at 42.36 with three 50+ scores. Besides, Bumrah had his best IPL season, wherein he took 27 wickets. It remains to be seen if he can outfox Kohli this time.
