PBKS Vs SRH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar Becomes First Indian Pacer To Take 150 Wickets In Indian Premier League

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first Indian fast bowler to take 150 wickets in the Indian Premier League during his team’s IPL 2022 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 17, 2022.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹4.20 crores in the IPL 2022 auction as he was not retained by the franchise, despite playing for them since IPL 2014. Bhuvneshwar had made his IPL debut for Pune Warriors India but had received an IPL contract from Royal Challengers Bangalore after his Ranji performances in the 2008-09 season.

Meanwhile, Kumar had entered this match against Punjab Kings with 147 wickets to his name in 137 matches in the Indian Premier League and went on to complete his 150 wickets in the tournament as he picked 3/22 in 4 overs. This made him the first Indian pacer in Indian Premier League history to take 150 scalps in the tournament.

The other two pacers to take 150 wickets are Lasith Malinga and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar Becomes Seventh Bowler To Reach 150-Wicket Milestone In IPL

Apart from becoming the first Indian pacer to reach the 150-wickets milestone in IPL, Bhuvneshwar Kumar also became the seventh bowler overall to achieve this feat. Other Indian bowlers to take 150 IPL wickets are Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, and Amit Mishra.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has won the Purple Cap in IPL twice in 2016 and 2017, and was the first bowler and only till now to win it in back-to-back IPL editions. His 23 wickets in IPL 2016 helped the then David Warner-led SRH to win the tournament, which remains their only IPL title victory.

Talking about the match, Kane Williamson of SRH won the toss and chose to bowl first. Punjab Kings is being led by Shikhar Dhawan as Mayank Agarwal hurt his toe in the nets and Prabhsimran Singh replaced him in the XI.

The PBKS innings belonged to Liam Livingstone as he made 60 in 33 balls with 4 sixes and 5 fours as they finished on 151 in 20 overs. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked 3/22, the best bowler from Sunrisers Hyderabad proved to be Umran Malik, who claimed his IPL best figures of 4/28 in 4 overs.

Also Read: Brad Hogg Reveals How Pravin Tambe Kept Rajasthan Royals Motivated After 3-4 Players Were Arrested For Spot Fixing In IPL 2013