'Missed a trick upfront', 'extraordinary': Klaasen, Moody on MI holding Jasprit Bumrah back vs SRH

Jasprit Bumrah bowled the fourth over of the innings between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians and didn’t return for a second over until the 13th over. By then, Heinrich Klaasen was on eight runs off three balls and the foundation was set by the top order for a record-breaking score. With almost no pressure at the top, Klaasen and Aiden Markram saw Bumrah off before taking SRH to a jaw-dropping 277/3, the highest score in IPL history.

Former SRH coach, Tom Moody and Klaasen himself believe MI missed out on not using Bumrah earlier in the first innings. Moody, a former Australian all-rounder, called it “extraordinary” while Klaasen said MI “missed a trick.”

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Klaasen, who scored 80 from 34 balls, told the broadcasters that MI should have used MI in the powerplay overs. He confirmed that the runs up top helped him face Bumrah without any pressure.

“They didn’t bowl their best bowler in the powerplay… that was our plan,” Klaasen said while collecting the orange cap. “They missed a trick up front. We’ve got incredible strikers up front in our batting line-up. They just set the tempo so our work was basically done.”

SRH scored 81 runs in the powerplay overs, 148/2 after 10 overs and 171/3 in 12 overs when Bumrah came to bowl his second over.

“When you’ve got the best bowler in the world in this format - if not all formats - and for him to only bowl one over in the first ten overs… to bowl his second over in the 13rd over is extraordinary,” Moody said on ESPNCricinfo. “By then, the game’s gone, the game’s totally gone.

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“I totally get if they want to use a couple of swing bowling options in the first or second over, I understand that. But Jasprit Bumrah has to bowl two overs in the powerplay purely because of what he brings to the table. One of the priorities in powerplay cricket is wickets and he is your best wicket-taker, and he always will be your best wicket-taker. And for him and Mumbai to be starved of that opportunity to try and stem the flow of this onslaught is crazy. It just doesn’t seem right.”

When Bumrah returned for his remaining three overs, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head had set the platform for SRH with quickfire fifties in 16 and 18 balls respectively. Their dominance above all bowlers, except Bumrah, saw four 20-plus overs inside the first 10 overs. The experts wondered if Bumrah was held back to counter the threat of Klaasen.

“That’s the issue,” Moody said. “They would have been planning around a number of challenges for today’s match but the biggest challenge around the batting side would’ve been ‘how do we keep Klaasen quiet?’

“And they had it stuck in their head that they’ve got to make sure they’ve got overs in the bank from Bumrah when Klaasen comes to the crease. But you have to be flexible with your plans. Every chance that Klaasen may not have batted today the way Sunrisers were going at the top.”

Mitchell McClenaghan believed Bumrah vs Head could have been just as effective as against Klaasen. “Even with match-ups and knowing your biggest threats, you know Travis Head, and you know how Travis Head is going to play. Jasprit Bumrah moving the ball away from Travis Head was a very, very good match-up,” McClenaghan said.

Moody questioned why MI didn’t alter their plans midway, especially with strategic timeouts to discuss and go through their plans again.

“That was the issue. At six overs [first time-out], they were 81,” Moody said. “[As a coach, at the time] you are having a conversation with your captain and key seniors, and you need to say ‘we need wickets. Who is our wicket-taker?’ You go ‘No. 1 Jasprit Bumrah, No. 2 someone else.’

“[For the] next two overs minimum, those two bowlers [should’ve bowled] and the priority should’ve been wickets. ‘[As coach you say] forget about runs, let’s just take wickets. Let’s set the fields, let’s bowl the lines, let’s bowl the different paces and the right lengths to get back into the contest.’”