Last Update on: September 9th, 2022 at 04:27 pm
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar wrote new records with his bowling in the recent Asia Cup 2022 match against Afghanistan as he finished with figures of 5/4 with four of his wickets coming in the first six powerplay overs on September 8, 2022, in Dubai.
Afghani captain Mohammad Nabi had won the toss and chose to bowl first. The decision came back to bite him as India openers KL Rahul and Virat Kohli routed their bowling attack.
KL Rahul captained the Indian team in absence of Rohit Sharma who was rested along with Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal. In came Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Chahar, and Akshar Patel. Afghanistan was unchanged.
Rahul and Kohli added 119 runs for the first wicket before Rahul fell for 61 runs with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Suryakumar Yadav hit a six-first ball he faced and got out on the next. Rishabh Pant made 20* but it was Virat Kohli who stood out.
Kohli hammered his maiden T20I century, finishing on 122* in 61 balls with 12 fours and 6 sixes to his name. This was also his 71st international ton, his first since November 2019, and made him the 4th Indian to score centuries in all three international formats after Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Suresh Raina.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Swings The Game India’s Way In The Powerplay Overs with 4/4; Destroys Afghanistan Top Order
Afghanistan, tired and broken after their one-wicket loss to Pakistan in Sharjah the other day and then the hammering they got at the hands of Rahul and Kohli here in Dubai, was further stunned by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The India pacer, who was blamed for India’s two losses against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, giving away crucial runs in the death overs, sent back both Afghan openers Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for ducks.
He then took care of Karim Janat for 2, and Najibullah Zadran for 0, picking 4/4 in 3 overs in the powerplay. He came back for his 4th and final over and on the 5th ball, picked the wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai to complete his five-wicket haul and ended with figures of 5/4.
This was Kumar’s second fifer in T20I cricket and received many wishes from the Twitterverse on the social media platform.
Also Read: Watch: Virat Kohli Kisses Ring Around His Neck To Celebrate His Maiden T20I Century vs Afghanistan
Here are some tweets:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar when the ball is swinging :#INDvAFG #Bhuvi pic.twitter.com/Lx6gpBuv34
— Duke 🦁 (@DukeForPM7) September 8, 2022
Bhuvneshwar Kumar tonight:
0,0,0,W,1,W,0,1,1,W,0,W,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,W,0.
– 5 wickets by conceding just 4 runs with a maiden over. Class by Bhuvi! pic.twitter.com/NLTNAH4XLr
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 8, 2022
Fewest runs conceded by an Indian pacer bowling all four overs (men's T20I):
4 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar v AFG, today
8 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar v UAE, 2016
9 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar v PAK, 2012#AsiaCup— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) September 8, 2022
Hey, Bhuvi! How many wickets did you pick today? 😜
Most wickets for India in T20Is (84) ✅
Best career T20 bowling figures (5-4) ✅#INDvAFG #AsiaCup2022 #BhuvneshwarKumar pic.twitter.com/RIbvujHdZs— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) September 8, 2022
Greatest of all time#AsiaCup2022 #AsiaCupT20 #INDvsAFG https://t.co/jBZ84IZNyH
— Wahid SK (@wahidskreal) September 8, 2022
Bhuvi gave his everything in this match to ensure he doesn't need to bowl the 19th again.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) September 8, 2022
If it's T20, if it's Powerplay bowling, then Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the answer to most questions.
The best. https://t.co/fnXFZwfRkO
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) September 8, 2022
Bhuvneshwar Kumar overtakes Yuzvendra Chahal to become India'seading wicket-taker in T20Is.
I still remember his first T20I wicket – a big inswinger to Nasir Jamshed in 2012.#INDvAFG #AsiaCup2022
— Israr Ahmed Hashmi (@IamIsrarHashmi) September 8, 2022
Pehle VK phir BK. #INDvsAFG
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) September 8, 2022
When was the last time a 5 for 4 in a T20 match wasn't guaranteed a player of the match award!!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 8, 2022
3 overs of Bhuvi in the powerplay. Not at the death. Jasprit Arshdeep and Harshal can bowl death. Bhuvi giving India wickets at the top will open things up. Minor refinements and India will be right up there in Oz in the World Cup.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 8, 2022
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 4-1-4-5 is the most economical 4-over spell by an Indian bowler in T20Is.
It's also the 3rd best figures in T20Is by an Indian bowler, behind 6-7 by Chahar versus Bangladesh in 2019 and 6-25 by Chahal versus England in 2017#AsiaCup2022 #INDvAFG
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) September 8, 2022
