A yer before India were considered to a be an ODI powerhouse, a World Cup favourite ahead of their journey to England. But on a year that is 2020, where all things have gone awry, so have the Indian team and their top performers. Jasprit Bumrah, the soul of India's pace bowling, no matter the format, completed the year without a taking a wicket in the first powerplay for the very first time in his career.
He ended with the unwanted feat after finishing wicketless in the five overs he bowled in the first Powerplay where he leaked 19 runs during the third and final ODI game of the series against Australia at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Bumrah played nine ODIs in 2020, bowling 25 overs in the first Powerplay. But failed to pick up a wicket with the new ball. He conceded 109 runs in those 25 overs at an economy rate of 4.36.
Overall, he has taken 18 wickets in the first Powerplay in his ODI career, the most coming in 2017 when he had managed seven wickets in 48 overs during the phase at 5.08 runs per over. In 2016, he picked a single wicket in three overs, in 2018 he picked four wickets in 38 overs at an economy rate of 3.08 and in 2019 he picked six wickets at an economy rate of 3.37.
Bumrah's lack of Powerplay penetration has also hurt the Indian team who have managed only four wickets in the first 10 overs of an ODI game in nine matches conceding 527 runs. The average of 131.75 is the worst for any ODI team in a single calendar year, surpassing Kenya's figure of 104.37 back in 2001.
