IPL 2024: Jasprit Bumrah, flying catches and RCB's losing streak - talking points from week three

The Cricketer looks back on the third week of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League, picking out the eye-catching moments as the competition builds pace

The Cricketer | 12/04/2024 at 13:34

State of play

The table is looking very congested as we enter week four, with just two points separating table-toppers Rajasthan Royals from sixth-placed Gujarat Titans.

Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings currently occupy the remaining playoff places.

Every team has now lost at least one match, with Rajasthan Royals and KKR losing to Gujarat Titans (three wickets) and CSK (seven wickets), respectively.

Mumbai Indians are on the up after recording wins against Delhi Capitals and RCB, and currently sit seventh in the table, while Sunrisers Hyderabad backed up their victory over CSK with a two-run win over Punjab Kings.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, however, are in freefall, with defeats to Rajasthan Royals (six wickets) and Mumbai Indians (seven wickets) extending their losing run to four matches. Punjab Kings (eighth) and Delhi Capitals (tenth) are also struggling, with the latter's defeat against Mumbai Indians on April 7 meaning they've won just one of their first five matches.

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^{Jos Buttler scored a century against RCB [Arun Sankar/Getty Images]}

England watch

Jos Buttler has had a poor IPL, failing to pass 15 in four of his five innings. However, against RCB last Saturday, he showed exactly what he is capable of, scoring an unbeaten 100 (58) to lead Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win – his sixth IPL century.

Fellow England international Reece Topley was also in action in that match, picking up 2 for 27, and while he went wicketless in RCB's meeting with Mumbai Indians five days later, he took a flying catch to remove Rohit Sharma and secure a maiden IPL wicket for debutant Will Jacks. However, it wasn't a great day for Jacks, ranked No.2 in the T20 Player Index, who was dismissed for 8 (6) and saw his two overs hit for 24.

Related: Visit the IPL hub

Elsewhere, Moeen Ali made his first outing of the season for CSK against Sunrisers Hyderabad, picking up 2 for 23, while Sam Curran (Punjab Kings) had a mixed game against the same opponents, returning expensive figures of 2 for 41 and scoring 29 (22).

However, it was a week to forget for Jonny Bairstow (Punjab Kings) and Phil Salt (KKR), who were dismissed for ducks against Sunrisers and CSK, respectively.

David Willey, Chris Woakes, Tom Curran and Tom Kohler-Cadmore are yet to feature this season while Luke Wood (Mumbai Indians) hasn't been seen since his expensive debut in late March. Liam Livingstone has been absent for Punjab Kings since March 30.

Blinder from Reece Topley! #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/9U1ot3J8iy
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) April 11, 2024

Performance of the week

Jasprit Bumrah has been a crucial cog in Mumbai Indians' upturn in form, taking seven wickets in his past two matches.

His best performance of the 2024 IPL came against RCB, when he picked up 5 for 21, including the wickets of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. With four of his teammates (who bowled a combined 11 overs) leaking in excess of 10 runs per over, his miserly contribution was integral in restricting RCB to a sub-200 total (196 for 8). The Indians went on to win by seven wickets with 27 balls to spare.

It means Bumrah finishes week three in possession of the purple cap, tied on 10 wickets with Rajasthan Royals spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

He's also joined an exclusive club of players to take multiple five-fors in the IPL, alongside James Faulker, Jaydev Unadkat and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bumrah's previous five-wicket haul came against KKR in 2022, when he picked up 5 for 10.

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^{RCB are on a four-match losing streak [Arun Sankar/Getty Images]}

Any other business

Kohli has once again been among the runs, scoring an unbeaten 113 (72 balls) against Rajasthan Royals – a record-extending eighth in the IPL. He did end up on the losing side but is now responsible for three of the top-10 individual scores in this year's IPL and is the current orange cap holder, with 319 runs.

Riyan Parag (Royals) and Shubman Gill (Titans) sit second and third, with 261 and 255 runs, respectively.

Kohli's RCB teammate Glenn Maxwell is still yet to find any form with the bat, registering his third duck of the season against Mumbai Indians on April 11. He's only passed three once in six innings.

And after four matches, KKR are yet to see any return on their 24.75 crore (£2.3m) investment on Mitchell Starc. The Australian has picked up just two wickets with an economy of 11.

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