India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar set new records with his bowling in the final match of the 2022 Asia Cup against Afghanistan as he finished with figures of 5/4 with four of his wickets coming in the first six overs of the powerplay on September 8, 2022, in Dubai.
Afghan captain Mohammad Nabi had won the toss and elected to field first. The decision came back to bite him as India openers KL Rahul and Virat Kohli decimated their bowling attack.
KL Rahul captained the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was rested along with Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal. Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Chahar and Akshar Patel came into play. 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 first ball six he faced and got out on the next ball. Rishabh Pant made 20* but it was Virat Kohli who stood out.
Kohli hit his maiden T20I century, finishing on 122* in 61 balls with 12 fours and 6 sixes to his name. This was also his 71ststr international ton, his first since November 2019, and made it his fourthth Indian to score centuries in all three international formats behind Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Suresh Raina.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Swings The Game India’s Way in Powerplay Overs at 4/4; It destroys the highest order in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, tired and broken after their one-wicket loss to Pakistan in Sharjah the other day and then hammered by Rahul and Kohli here in Dubai, were further stunned by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
India’s paceman, who was blamed for India’s two defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka by giving away crucial runs in the death overs, returned both Afghan openers Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for ducks.
He then looked after Karim Janat for 2, and Najibullah Zadran for 0, picking 4/4 in 3 overs in the powerplay. He returned for his 4sth and the last over and on the 5thth ball, picked the wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai to complete his five-wicket haul and finished with figures of 5/4.
This was Kumar’s second wicket in T20I cricket and received many congratulations from the Twitterverse on the social media platform.
Also Read: Watch: Virat Kohli kisses his neck to celebrate his daughter’s 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,P,0,1,1,P,0,P,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,W,0.
– 5 wickets conceding just 4 runs with a maiden over. Class from Bhuvi! pic.twitter.com/NLTNAH4XLr
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 8, 2022
Fewest runs conceded by an Indian pacer bowling in all four overs (Men’s T20Is):
4 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs AFG, today
8 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar v United Arab Emirates, 2016
9 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar v AKP, 2012#AsiaCup— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) September 8, 2022
Hey, Bhuvi! How many gates did you pick today? 😜
Most wickets for India in T20Is (84) ✅
Career best T20 bowling figures (5-4) ✅#INDvAFG #AsiaCup 2022 #BhuvneshwarKumar pic.twitter.com/RIbvujHdZs— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) September 8, 2022
The greatest of all time#AsiaCup 2022 #AsiaCupT20 #INDvsAFG https://t.co/jBZ84IZNyH
— Wahid SK (@wahidskreal) September 8, 2022
Bhuvi gave it his all in this match to make sure he doesn’t have to play the 19th again.
— Fat Dot (@FarziCricketer) September 8, 2022
If it is T20, if it is 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’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is.
I still remember his first T20I wicket – a big swing off Nasir Jamshed in 2012.#INDvAFG #AsiaCup 2022
— 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 was not guaranteed the man of the match award!!
– Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 8, 2022
3 over Bhuvi in the powerplay. Not in death. Jasprit Arshdeep and Harshal can cover the death. Bhuvi giving India wickets at the top will open things up. Minor tweaks and India will be right there in Oz at 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 player in T20Is.
It is also the third-best figure in T20Is by an Indian bowler, behind Chahar’s 6-7 against Bangladesh in 2019 and Chahal’s 6-25 against England in 2017#AsiaCup 2022 #INDvAFG
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) September 8, 2022
