The Man of the Match should hold been a batsman because of Bumrah and Boult,’ Sanjay Manjrekar.

Published on November 7, 2020

Key points:

For his career-best 4/14 figures, Mumbai Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Player of the Match trophy.
Manjrekar acknowledged that Bumrah and Trent Boult both did a commendable job early on with the new ball.
“MOM should have been a batsman with due regard to Boult & Bumrah.
Bumrah, who snatched DC pacer Kagiso Rabada’s Purple Hat.

The decision to award the Player of the Match award to Jasprit Bumrah in the IPL 2020 Qualifier 1 among defending champions Mumbai Indians & Delhi Capitals in Dubai on Thursday was not decided by former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar.

For his career-best 4/14 figures, Mumbai Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Player of the Match trophy, which led MI to beat DC by 57 runs and proceed to their sixth IPL final.

Sanjay Manjrekar on MI Bowlers:

Manjrekar acknowledged that Bumrah and Trent Boult both did a commendable job early on with the new ball, but according to him, a batsman made the match-winning impact in the MI vs DC match.

The batsmen made the match-winning impact. “MOM should have been a batsman with due regard to Boult & Bumrah,” Manjrekar tweeted.

“One must look at how the game was put at the halfway stage when awarding the MOM prize, MI had almost sealed the game with their batting,” Manjrekar argued.

The great day for MI batsmen as well as Bowlers:

The platform on which Ishan Kishan (55 not out) and Hardik Pandya (37 not out of 14 balls) cashed in to take their team to 200 for 5 was set by Suryakumar Yadav (51 out of 38 balls).

In the final five overs, Kishan and Hardik Pandya made 78 runs to drive MI to 200, which otherwise looked at best like a 180 score.

The scoreboard pressure was high with Trent Boult (2/9 in 2 overs) and Jasprit Bumrah (4/14 in 4 overs) delivering a ‘Test match opening spell’ on a wobbly Capitals top-order to eventually blow away the opponent for 143 for 8.

Bumrah, who snatched DC pacer Kagiso Rabada’s Purple Hat, said winning the Player of the Match was a nice feeling as the batsmen normally sweep the awards.

“All the prizes were taken by batsmen, so it’s great to get this as a bowler (laughs). Ah no, I’m not thinking about prizes. I am happy as long as the team wins.’