Jasprit Bumrah is one of the toughest bowlers in world cricket. His pace, his accuracy, his yorkers—it’s a nightmare for most batters. But there was one man who made it look easy: AB de Villiers.
Let’s break down why AB handled Bumrah better than almost anyone else in T20 cricket.
Why Jasprit Bumrah?
The scatter plot above shows the averages of the most economical T20 bowlers since 2015 (with a minimum of 2000 balls bowled). Out of all of them, 9 are spinners—and Jasprit Bumrah is the only fast bowler on the list. He stands out with an impressive average of 19 and an economy rate of just 6.88.
Who are the Boom-Bashers?
The plot above shows the 10 batters with the highest batting averages against Jasprit Bumrah in T20s (minimum 50 balls faced), along with their strike rates. While players like Shikhar Dhawan (105 avg), Shreyas Iyer (74) and KL Rahul (73) have strong averages, AB de Villiers is the only batter who not only averages over 40 against Bumrah but also strikes at above 140. That balance of consistency and aggression sets him apart.
Reading the battle: Bumrah vs average batters vs AB de Villiers
To an average T20 batter, Jasprit Bumrah bowls most often on a good length, outside the off stump—doing this 18.5% of the time. Interestingly, the most common shot played against Bumrah is the flick shot, at 17.5%.
Wait—flick shot? And a ball ending outside off stump? That suggests a mismatch. It points to a false shot. While we don’t have exact data on swing or seam movement, the flick implies the ball was expected to come in, while the actual line (outside off) suggests it held its line or moved away, which can square batters up.
Of course, we’re not saying every outside-off ball is flicked, or that every flick is misjudged. But when a bowler’s most frequent line meets a shot that doesn’t quite align with it, there’s a small but meaningful story worth noticing.
Now let’s look at Bumrah vs AB de Villiers. Against him, Bumrah’s most frequent delivery is full and on the stumps, bowled 33% of the time. And AB’s most common response? The on-drive, played 21% of the time.
That delivery falls right into the slot—and AB, as expected, opens up his stance and thulps to long-on, playing with the line, not against it. It shows how well he read Bumrah, and how rarely he’s caught off-guard.
Which shots trouble Bumrah the most?
The Image above shows the shots against which Jasprit Bumrah concedes runs at the highest economy rate, split across phases: Powerplay, Middle Overs, and Death. Below, we compare how often these shots are played by average batters and by AB de Villiers.
- Powerplay: Bumrah’s highest economy rate is against the pull shot (14.75). While the average batter plays this 6.06% of the time, ABD plays it even more—7.18%.
- Middle Overs: Once again, the pull shot causes trouble for Bumrah (ER: 11.38). Average batters use it 5.96% of the time, ABD plays it 6.67%—slightly higher.
- Death Overs: Here, it’s the straight drive that proves most expensive for Bumrah (ER: 13.9). Average batters play it just 1.76% of the time, but ABD increases that to 3.11%.
In all three phases, AB de Villiers plays the shots which extract the most value against Bumrah—and plays them more often than the average batter.
Strike Rate Comparison by Length
When we compare how batters perform against Jasprit Bumrah based on length, AB de Villiers stands out in multiple ways. Against full-length deliveries, average batters score at 138.8, but AB de Villiers takes it up to a staggering 237.5. Against short balls, AB’s strike rate is 163.64, comfortably higher than the average of 138.53. Even for back of a length deliveries, AB scores at 107.14—compared to the average batter’s 96.04. Interestingly, on good length balls, which are generally harder to hit, AB scores slightly lower than average (88.46 vs 94.25). But even against yorkers, AB maintains a solid 112.5, compared to the average of just 69.98.
Strike Rate Comparison by Line
Looking at line, the difference becomes even clearer. Against deliveries on the stumps, AB de Villiers scores at 211.54, almost double the average batter’s 114.04. On balls that are wide outside off, AB’s strike rate is 200, while others average 137.4. Even on balls just outside off stump, AB maintains an edge (114.81 vs 106.46). The only line where AB hasn’t scored is down the leg, but it is due to the sample size being just 1 ball, which was a dot.
The Final Word: Why AB de Villiers Was Bumrah’s Toughest Test
Jasprit Bumrah is one of the most accurate and economical T20 bowlers the game has seen. But AB de Villiers managed to do what very few others could—score off him consistently, and with intent.
From shot selection to phase-wise matchups, AB showed remarkable awareness. He played the shots that troubled Bumrah the most, and played them more often than the average batter. Whether it was the pull in the Powerplay, the straight drive at the death, or the on-drive against full balls, AB seemed one step ahead.
Even when we break it down by length and line, the numbers are clear. AB had a higher strike rate than the average batter across nearly every zone, especially when the ball was full or on the stumps—areas where most struggle. He didn’t just react to Bumrah; he dictated terms.
It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t guesswork. It was elite skill, awareness, and precision, built over years of facing the very best.
When one of the greatest bowlers of our time met one of the smartest and most versatile batters in cricket history, the battle was unforgettable—and AB de Villiers came out on top more often than not.
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