Jasprit Bumrah finally took his first wicket of IPL 2026, in what was his sixth game of the season, when he sent back the dangerous Sai Sudharsan, in Mumbai Indians’ victory over Gujarat Titans. In what was a rare time that Bumrah was handed the ball to bowl the first over of an innings, he responded by picking up a wicket on the first ball. In the post-match presentation, after Mumbai won the game Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya was asked a question about Bumrah taking a wicket on the first ball of the first over of the GT innings. “Yeah, it’s quite fascinating. I’ve seen a lot of people ask why Jasprit has never bowled the first over. But if you see, it’s been 151 appearances and I think eight or nine times Jasprit has bowled the first over. So I don’t think it’s a Hardik Pandya problem. It’s just that Jasprit Bumrah is so special that you use him wherever it’s required for the team, not necessarily at the start. But today, we realised that we really wanted to make an impact with the new ball, and no one’s better than him,” Pandya said. Bumrah eventually ended his evening with figures of 3-0-15-1 with Mumbai Indians managing to defend a total of 199. Tilak Varma was the standout star of the day for Mumbai, with an unbeaten 101 off just 45 balls. Mumbai desperately needed the win over Gujarat to drag them out of the IPL table’s basement. The five-time champions are currently in seventh spot ahead of today’s game between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Pandya expressed his relief at Mumbai Indians ending their four-match losing streak. “Very important. It’s always challenging to go away and win. Also, Ahmedabad has not been a happy hunting ground for Mumbai Indians, so it’s very satisfying,” he said.
‘Not a Hardik Pandya problem’: Mumbai Indians captain on Jasprit Bumrah’s season so far
