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Bhuvneshwar Kumar, once an indispensable member of India's bowling lineup in all formats, turns 34 today.
Bhuvneshwar finds himself in the rare commodity of the fast bowlers in Indian cricket who have enjoyed tremendous success in all three formats of the game. However, persistent injury troubles hampered his career.
He possessed the uncanny ability to move the bowl both ways with pace. But consistent injuries brought his pace down, but he found his way out with new variations in his bowling.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar represented India in 229 matches across the formats, taking 294 wickets to his credit. With him recovering from his injuries and making a comeback in first-class cricket and performing, Bhuvneshwar Kumar would still make his way into the national side.
However, he is an integral part of SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL and has been pretty consistent with the ball. In fact, it was only in 2023 when his economy went past 8 (8.33 to be precise) since 2011.
In the IPL, he is still a force to be reckoned with, with him taking 99 wickets in the death overs at an 8.97 economy in 135 innings. His effectivity in death overs can be measured by the fact that his economy crossed the 10 mark only twice in his 10 years of IPL careers.
In this article, we will discuss some of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's best IPL moments, wishing him a happy birthday.
#5 Picking up his first IPL fifer
In IPL 2017 against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) on a sluggish Hyderabad pitch, which aided the bowlers bowling into the surface, SunRisers Hyderabad huffed, puffed, slogged, and fell but managed to post 159 runs on board thanks to David Warner’s valiant 70-run innings.
If there was any team that would have defended that total on that surface, it had to be SRH, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the pack. He got going from ball one and pinged Hashim Amla lbw with the first ball of the second inning. He then removed the dangerous Glenn Maxwell with a leg cutter with the line but wide off to extract the extra bounce.
For KXIP, Manan Vohra had been playing a blinder for Kings XI and had reached 95 off just 50 balls before Bhuvi trapped him leg before wicket to claim his fifth wicket. Kings XI fell 5 runs short as they were dismissed for 154, with Bhuvneshwar giving only 5 runs in the penultimate over.
#4 Winning a low-scoring thriller for his team
SunRisers Hyderabad batsmen didn't apply themselves to the Ahemdabad pitch, which was by no means an ideal T20 surface, and could only manage to get 134 runs against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2014 encounter.
It was once again on the bowlers to defend a low total, and who better than Bhuvneshwar Kumar to do for his side? He provided the ideal start for his side by outfoxing Ajinkya Rahane with a slower one to induce a false shot caught by David Warner at slips.
With 45 runs needed off Bhuvneshwar, he dismissed Rajat Bhatia and the dangerous James Faulkner in quick succession to win the game for his side quite comprehensively. He finished with a score of 4–14.
#3 Leading an IPL side
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been with the Sunrisers since their inception in 2013. Being a regular member and senior player, it was only a matter of time before he was awarded the leadership role, even in some matches.
He got the honors in 2019 when he led SRH in six games and once in 2022. The Sunrisers won two of those seven matches.
#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar's death overs masterclass against RCB in 2018
It was once again a low-scoring thriller at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad, in the IPL 2018 between RCB and SRH, where both teams were fighting to survive in the playoff race.
The RCB bowlers did pretty well to stop SRH's powerful batting line-up at 146 runs. But SRH bowlers roared back to make the RCB reel at 84/5 inside 12 overs.
Mandeep Singh and Colin de Grandhomme steadied the innings and needed 25 off 18 balls to win it for their side. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar had his ideas.
He nailed his Yorkers to astute perfection and gave away just one boundary in the 18th and 20th overs, where he conceded only 12 runs with the prized wicket of Grandhomme to win his side the match by 5 runs.
It was a death-over bowling masterclass of the highest level by Bhuvneshwar, and he was rightly adjudged the Player of the Match.
#1 Winning IPL in 2016
Like every player, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's best IPL moment came in 2016, when he won the IPL trophy for SRH, beating RCB in the final. Although he didn't pick up any wickets in the match, he conceded just 25 runs in his four overs.
Bhuvneshwar also termed that his best IPL moment in a question-answer session in 2020 on Twitter, where he gave his take on fans' queries. The 34-year-old bowler was asked to name his favorite IPL moment, and Bhuvneshwar responded by saying, "Winning the IPL 2016".
