India vs SA: Three best bowling performances by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in T20Is
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been one of India's most consistent bowlers in the last decade. The 32-year-old medium pacer has had his fair share of injuries in recent years, losing a bit of pace as a result. However, he has managed to reinvent himself from time-to-time, proving to be a crucial asset for the Indian side.
The Uttar Pradesh bowler has played 59 T20I matches for his country, bagging 58 wickets at an economy rate of 6.99. Since making his international debut in 2013, he has been a mainstay of the Indian side.
As India prepare to face South Africa in a five-match T20I series which gets underway in Delhi this evening, Kumar will be the leader of a young bowling attack consisting of the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik amongst others.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar best bowling performances in T20Is
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar started out as a lethal swing bowler, he adapted to the needs of the shortest format, moulding himself into an excellent death bowler as well. His ability to nail the yorkers has been his strong suit throughout his career. On that note, let's take a look at his three best bowling performances in T20Is.
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1) 3/9 vs Pakistan, 2012
After India managed to post a miserly target of 134 runs against their arch-rivals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Bhuvneshwar led the comeback trail for his side.
The medium pacer delivered a hammer blow to the visitors in his first spell, scalping three big wickets of Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Gul. Pakistan were shell-shocked at 3/12 but eventually managed to win the game by 5 wickets.
However, Kumar was simply unplayable that day, making the batters dance to his tunes. He bowled four overs, conceding only nine runs at an economy rate of 2.25, producing a memorable spell.
2) 5/24 vs South Africa, 2018
On a belter of a surface, the Indians managed to post a mammoth total of 203 on the board at the Wanderers Stadium. Kumar ran riot with the ball however, striking early to peg the hosts back as he dismissed JJ Smuts and JP Duminy of South Africa in quick succession.
With a well-set Reeza Hendricks threatening to take the game away from India, Bhuvneshwar put his hand up to single-handedly drag his side back into the contest.
In the 18th over, the Meerut medium pacer accounted for the wickets of Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen and Chris Morris. Kumar produced one of the best game-changing overs in recent times, eventually ending up with memorable figures of 5/24, his only fifer in T20Is till date.
3) 0/3 vs West Indies, 2014
Well, it's not often you'll see a wicketless spell make the list for the best bowling performances. However, this particular spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserves a mention. In a T20 World Cup encounter against the mighty West Indies in 2014, the medium pacer delivered a spell for the ages.
In his three overs, Bhuvneshwar tied down the likes of Dwayne Smith and Chris Gayle, conceding only three runs in his spell, one of them being wide. With 16 dot balls, this was one of the finest spells in T20 World Cups.