Dublin: Returning quick Jasprit Bumrah produced the rare feat of bowling a maiden in the final over of a T20I innings as India clinched their three-match series against Ireland with an impressive 33-run victory in Dublin on Sunday.
It was Bumrah’s second international match back from injury and the star pacer once again showed his prowess when bowling at the death as he picked up a second consecutive two-wicket haul to guide his team home.
Bumrah had 37 runs to defend when bowling the final over of the match and the right-armer collected a wicket-maiden (four leg byes were added to the total off the final ball) to ensure India opened up a commanding 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
While maiden overs are regular occurrences in Test cricket and ODI matches, they are as rare as hen’s teeth in the shortest format of the game as batters strive to score as many runs as possible.
Bumrah’s final over of the match was just the 10th time the India pacer had delivered a maiden over in T20I cricket and means the 29-year-old is now tied for second for the most maiden overs in the history of men’s T20I cricket.
Uganda spinner Frank Nsubuga leads that exclusive list with a total of 15 maidens throughout his T20I career, with Bumrah joining teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar and German tweaker Ghulam Ahmadi in equal second as players to have performed the feat on 10 occasions.
The most recent time Bumrah had bowled a maiden over in a T20I was against England in Birmingham in 2022 and prior to that he delivered on the big stage at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup when playing Scotland in Dubai in 2021.
Bumrah didn’t concede a solitary boundary during his four overs against the Irish on Sunday to finish with outstanding figures of 2/15 and the star quick issued a warning sign to rival teams ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup by declaring he is slowly starting to bowl more quickly as he returns to full fitness.
“Feeling good. Today, I could run in and bowl a little faster,” Bumrah said after the match.
“If you play with the baggage of expectation, you are going to be under pressure. You have to keep those expectations aside. You are not doing yourself 100 percent justice if you are playing with so many expectations. You have to learn to manage the expectations and keep it on the side.
“Happy to be back and couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Earlier, India posted a good total of 185/5 on the back of a classy half-century from opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (58) and some big late hitting from Rinku Singh (38 from 21 deliveries).
Experienced opener Andy Balbirnie (72) gave Ireland some hope with some valuable runs at the top of the order in reply, but Ravi Bishnoi (2/37), Prasidh Krishna (2/29) and Bumrah picked up two wickets each to ensure India registered the victory.
Courtesy: ICC