New Delhi: Royal Challenger Bengaluru’s (RCB) fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a hat-trick in the must-win match for Uttar Pradesh against Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, December 5.
After posting a 161-run target for Jharkhand, Bhuvneshwar conceded just six runs in the first three overs and later returned to bowl his last over in the 17th and dismissed Robin Minz, Bal Krishna and Vivek Anand to finish with figures of 4-1-6-3. His sensational bowling spell turned out to be a game-changer as UP beat Jharkhand by 10 runs.
He is the fourth bowler to take a hat-trick in the ongoing season of the SMAT after Akash Madhwal, Shreyas Gopal and Felix Alemao. During Uttar Pradesh’s first match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Delhi, Bhuvneshwar became the first Indian fast bowler to take 300 wickets. Only Yuzvendra Chahal, Piyush Chawla and R Ashwin took more wickets than Bhuvneshwar in the shortest format among Indian bowlers. He picked up 90 wickets for India and was the second-highest wicket-taking fast bowler.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked by RCB in IPL mega auction
4️⃣-1️⃣-6️⃣-3️⃣ 😵💫
King of Swing, Bhuvi is at it again! 🔥Got a hat-trick of wickets in the 17th over and steered his team to a crucial win in SMAT! 😎#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/X6LoLvQkab
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) December 5, 2024
Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) started the bidding war for the fast bowler. But MI decided to quit at INR 10.25 crore and just when LSG thought they secured his services, RCB entered the race and bought Bhuvneshwar for INR 10.75 crore.
RCB’s 10.75 crore recruit in the IPL 2025 mega auction picked up a hat-trick in the Syed Mushtaq Ali match between Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
