Mitchell Starc vs Jasprit Bumrah a no-brainer even after DC pacer's heroics against RR; there's only one winner...
Jasprit Bumrah at his best is unplayable. Clearly, he is more versatile than Mitchell Starc.
Mitchell Starc stood there, hands on his hips, looking a little bewildered, a little perplexed. He had just been smashed – smashed – for 4, 6 and 4 off successive deliveries of his second over by a young Indian batter with whom he had done battle over five Tests not so long back. Yashasvi Jaiswal was one of India’s few shining batting lights on their unsuccessful tour of Australia over the winter, and the left-handed opener took a shine to Australian left-arm pacer in Delhi on Wednesday night, kickstarting Rajasthan Royals’ chase of 189 for victory against Delhi Capitals with a 19-run over.
An hour and a half later, Starc stood with a broad grin as his colleagues trooped in from various corners of the field, jumping for high-fives with the towering, 1.97-metre quick. He can do that, you know. Go from commonplace to extraordinary in the space of a few hours. A few overs. A few balls, if you please.
Starc had just rescued a seemingly lost cause. He hadn’t won the war, yet, but he had secured the battle. Sent the match into a Super Over, with two of the most sensational end-stage overs under immense pressure. Nailing one yorker after another, he conceded a mere 16 off his final two overs, eight in each. The second of those overs meant RR finished on 188 for four, sending the game spiralling to the decider for the first time in IPL 2025.
The yorker is one of the most lethal, devastating deliveries in cricket. In any cricket. It seems easy enough to bowl with practice, full and zeroing in on the batter’s toes – remember Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and ‘slinga’ Lasith Malinga? – but it takes a lot out of a bowler. It places immense strain on the core and the margin for error is miniscule, especially these days when batters go deep into the crease to remarkably alter the concept of length. To bowl two yorkers in a row with accuracy and hostility calls for great skill and control, and a big heart. To bowl 12 in succession? Other-worldly comes to mind.
But wait, there was still a game to be won. And lost. To Axar Patel, it was a no-brainer that Starc would bowl the Super Over. Which he did, with aplomb even though there was a no-ball for cutting the side-crease. He again brought his yorkers into play. Time after time. RR managed only 11, perhaps surprising a few by fielding two left-handers when it was obvious that Starc was getting a little bit of tail into them. Never mind. RR 11 for two, DC 13 without loss, thanks to KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs. A famous victory, the fat pulled out of the fire.
It's not often that a bowler wins the Player of the Match award for figures of one for 36, but then again, it’s not often that a bowler bowls a dozen-plus yorkers in a row to salvage the night. Welcome to the quixotic world of Starc – at times inconsistent and erratic, but mostly irrepressible and electric.
Mitchell vs Jasprit Bumrah
Watching Starc go about his business with little fuss made the mind inevitably go to places it perhaps shouldn’t. Such as, in this instance, to Jasprit Bumrah, him of the hyperextended right elbow and a subsequent delayed release point that, allied with his other extraordinary skills, make him the premier pacer in the world right now, across formats.
Bumrah’s versatility doesn’t need reiteration, but nevertheless, how about this? He was primarily responsible, alongside Mohammed Shami from a bowling perspective, for India’s march to the 50-over World Cup final in 2023. Seven months later, his impact on India’s charge to the T20 World Cup title was recognised with the Player of the Tournament award. And over the winter in Australia, he was head and shoulders above the rest – colleagues, opponents – as he finished with 32 wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy showdown, named the Player of the Series even though his side lost the Test faceoff 1-3.
Bumrah at his best is unplayable. Clearly, he is more versatile than Starc. Apart from the same sandshoe-crushing yorkers that the older man boasts, he has more than one superbly disguised slower one and a nasty bouncer that always, always, comes with the element of surprise. He seldom has bad outings – when he goes for runs, it’s usually because the batter has been terrific, not because he has been off-target with his lines and lengths – and is a source of comfort (for the fielding captain) and dread (for the batters) when he has a couple of overs up his sleeve.
Starc or Bumrah? It’s a subjective choice, with no right or wrong answers. But how about Starc and Bumrah, together? Now, that would be something.
