In Monday, April 7, the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) match between the returning Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hitter Virat Kohli did not back down. To establish his supremacy against the ace pacer, the opener struck a majestic six to the mid-wicket fence off the first ball he faced.
Before the highly anticipated match, a few of people drew attention to Kohli’s patchy record versus Bumrah. Even though he had a solid strike rate and scored runs up to this point, he had lost to the pacer five times, three of which occurred after 2020 and the most recent in the 2024 Indian Premier League.
After spending a significant amount of time at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, the MI captain, who missed the first four games of the season, was given the all-clear to return. He gave up a single when he opened his spell with a tight ball from around the wicket to Devdutt Padikkal.
Bumrah bowled a back-of-the-length delivery with Kohli on strike in the hopes that the classic Wankhede bounce would have an effect. However, the opening batsman was up to the task and, after shifting away from the stumps and the delivery, sent the ball to the mid-wicket area.
Check out the outstanding six right here:
Strong wrists! 💪🏻
Perfect placement! 👊🏻
Real statement! 💥#ViratKohli smashes #JaspritBumrah for a MAXIMUM at the mid-wicket fence! ❤
Watch the LIVE action ➡ https://t.co/H6co5trkpW#IPLonJioStar 👉 #MIvRCB | LIVE NOW on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi & JioHotstar pic.twitter.com/jaSiLFJl0s
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 7, 2025As the first bowling change, Bumrah let up 10 runs in his opening over. MI’s new-ball duo to start the game was still Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar.
Virat Kohli and RCB Shine in Powerplay Despite Early Setback
Trent Boult’s hammering of Phil Salt put RCB in early difficulty as they were put in to bat first. After hitting a boundary to start the game, the English opener was dismissed on the very next ball.
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal demonstrated their intentions right away, and the six off Bumrah was a powerful statement. To end the powerplay, Deepak Chahar was smacked for 20 runs in his second over, demonstrating that he was likewise not spared.
As of this writing, Kohli is edging closer to a half-century as RCB is at 85-1 after eight overs.
