RR vs MI: Decoding Steve Smith's performance against Jasprit Bumrah
The second game of double-header Sunday will be played between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. While MI start as certain favorites, RR will have to be flawless in order to get on top. Besides, RR skipper Steve Smith will be wary of MI speedster, who has perturbed the batsmen this season. Let us analyze Smith's IPL performance against Bumrah.
A look at the battle
In the IPL, Smith has aggregated 2,287 runs from 92 matches at 35.73. On the other hand, Bumrah owns 99 wickets in 87 matches, including a best match haul of 4/20. So far, Smith has managed to score 46 runs off 43 balls by Bumrah, while Bumrah has dismissed him thrice. It shows Bumrah has been dominating Smith in the tournament.
Smith vs MI, Bumrah vs RR
Smith boasts a decent record against MI in the IPL. Thus far, he has racked up 418 runs from 13 games at a strike-rate of 129.81. The tally also includes 10 sixes and 36 fours. Besides, Bumrah has 11 wickets from seven games against RR.
Interesting numbers of Smith and Bumrah
Numbers show that Smith struggles to score in the middle overs (7-15) against Mumbai Indians. Across several seasons, Smith has scored 195 runs from 13 matches at a strike-rate of 108.94 in the middle overs, against MI. However, his strike-rate notches up to 142.59 in the powerplay (vs MI). Meanwhile, Bumrah's strength lies at the death, wherein he has taken 57 wickets at 21.16.
What to expect?
The impending game between RR and MI will be played in Abu Dhabi, where the pacers have been on the rise. However, regardless of the tracks, Bumrah has had decent amount of success this season. He is presently the second-highest wicket-taker (17 wickets). Notably, he outfoxed Smith in the first leg, earlier. It remains to be seen if Smith can break the shackles.
