IPL 2021: Bhuvneshwar Kumar Gives Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) An Injury Scare Against Punjab Kings

On Wednesday, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) registered their first win of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) when they defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by nine wickets at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

This was Punjab’s first match in Chennai after playing their first three games in Mumbai and they couldn’t adjust to the slow and low wicket at Chepauk. They could manage only 120 runs after KL Rahul won the toss and chose to bat first. Khaleel Ahmed picked 3 wickets, while Abhishek Sharma picked two wickets for SRH, as Mayank Agarwal and Shahrukh Khan top-scored for PBKS with 22 runs each.

However, the match also saw an injury scare, especially to Sunrisers Hyderabad camp, as their premier bowler and former captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar failed to complete his quota of 4 overs and walked off the field.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar Walks Off The Field With A Thigh Strain

SRH came into this match with desperation to win a game given that they have lost their previous three encounters and were at the bottom of the points table. However, despite getting over the line for the first time in the ongoing tournament, one incident gave Sunrisers management a headache.

SRH frontline pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled nicely in the powerplay, giving away just 6 runs in his first over. In the second over, Bhuvneshwar picked up the prized wicket of Punjab skipper KL Rahul. The Meerut-lad bowled another over in the powerplay to finish the spell with impressive figures of 1 for 16 from three overs.

However, at the end of the powerplay, Bhuvneshwar Kumar walked off the field clutching his thigh, soon after bowling his third over.

Everyone was in tension about what had happened to Bhuvneshwar until commentator Lisa Sthalekar informed on-air that the right-handed pacer has suffered a thigh strain. As the IPL 2021 moves forward, this is indeed a distressing sign for the 2016 champions as they are already missing the services of yorker specialist T Natarajan, who has been struggling due to a niggle.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has had quite a few battles with injuries that has cost him his place in the Indian Test team as well. He had played just 4 matches in IPL 2020 as well, missing the remainder of the tournament due to a hamstring issue. Before that, he had undergone surgery for a hernia.

He featured in all five T20Is against England recently and was in top form as he picked up four wickets and followed the momentum by claiming six wickets in the three-match ODI leg.

Sunrisers Hyderabad next plays Delhi Capitals on April 25 in Chennai.

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