"The entire credit goes to Bhuvneshwar Kumar" - Mohammad Kaif on SRH's IPL 2024 win vs RR

Mohammad Kaif has lauded Bhuvneshwar Kumar for bowling a match-winning spell in the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) IPL 2024 clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

SRH set RR a 202-run target after opting to bat first in Hyderabad on Thursday, May 2. Bhuvneshwar then picked up two wickets in the first over and dismissed Rovman Powell off the game's final ball as the hosts eked out a one-run win.

Reviewing the game on Star Sports, Kaif noted that Bhuvneshwar was primarily responsible for SRH's win.

"Two runs were required off the last ball and he got a set batter out. Of course, he picked up wickets with the new ball, dismissed Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, the in-form batters. So the entire credit goes to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. It's absolutely correct," he explained.

The former India batter praised the veteran seamer for silencing his critics.

"He dismissed Buttler with swing. All three of his wickets came with an upright seam. Sanju Samson was dismissed with late swing. The bat couldn't come at all and he got clean bowled. This is his strength. His ball was not swinging earlier. We even criticized him earlier but he got the ball to swing today," Kaif elaborated.

Bhuvneshwar bowled an outswinger to have Jos Buttler caught at slip by Marco Jansen for a golden duck off his second delivery. He then castled Sanju Samson for a duck with an inswinger with the fifth ball of the same over.

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"He said he would neither bowl a slower bouncer nor a wide yorker" - Mohammad Kaif on Bhuvneshwar Kumar's final over

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (right) tried to bowl only yorkers in the last over. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Mohammad Kaif appreciated Bhuvneshwar Kumar for sticking to his strength and resorting to only seam-up yorkers in the final over.

"If you see all the six balls, he said he would neither bowl a slower bouncer nor a wide yorker. He attacked the stumps and bowled with an upright seam. I have had a lot of discussions with Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and they say they like bowling yorkers with the seam only because the ball reaches fast and right under the bat," he observed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator also praised T Natarajan and Pat Cummins for conceding very few runs in the 18th and 19th overs respectively.

"This is experience that you shouldn't make a mistake in the end. He stuck to his strength and dismissed Powell off the last ball. He won them a lost game. So Bhuvneshwar Kumar needs to be praised, and of course, Cummins and T Natarajan, as 27 runs were required off 18 balls and only 14 came off 12 balls," Kaif noted.

Although Natarajan and Cummins were hit for a six apiece, both only conceded a solitary run off the other five balls of their respective overs. Bhuvneshwar then sealed the win with a wicket off the last ball after conceding 11 runs off the first five deliveries of the final over.