Witnessing the pace maestro Jasprit Bumrah getting smashed left, right and centre is a rare sight in cricket, and the same happened in India versus Pakistan's Asia Cup 2025 Super Four clash at the Dubai International stadium on September 21. While Pakistan may not be on the same level as India in all aspects of the game, they achieved something that most teams can only dream of. They completely neutralised India's ace pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, in the powerplay. In his three overs, Bumrah leaked 34 runs and failed to take a single wicket, marking his most expensive powerplay performance in T20Is.
Jasprit Bumrah's rusty outing against Pakistan earns him an unwanted record
Pakistan's opening batters, Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan, were relentless, hitting two fours in each of Bumrah's overs. Farhan was responsible for four of those boundaries, even smashing one off a bouncer. Zaman set the tone early, starting his innings by flicking a ball behind square and then stepping down the pitch to clear mid-off for two consecutive boundaries in Bumrah's very first over.
In the Asia Cup, India implemented a different strategy for Jasprit Bumrah, allowing him to bowl three of his four overs during the powerplay. He used this approach against both the UAE and Pakistan during the league phase of the tournament.
According to a Cricinfo report, prior to these matches, Bumrah had only bowled three overs within the first six overs in just 11 of his 244 T20 games, a statistic that includes his extensive history in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Bumrah ended up conceding 45 runs in his four-over spell and remained wicketless.
Pakistan rode on Sahibzada Farhan's solid fifty to post a challenging total of 171/5. Sahibzada cracked a 45-ball 58 which was decorated with five fours and three sixes.
India's Playing XI
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pakistan's Playing XI
Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris(w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed