Bhuvneshwar Kumar records hat-trick in must-win SMAT match for Uttar Pradesh vs Jharkhand | Cricket News
Uttar Pradesh captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar recorded his maiden T20 hat-trick in the final Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group-stage match against Jharkhand on Thursday.
After setting a 161-run target in a must-win game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Bhuvneshwar’s economical self only conceded six runs in his first three overs with the new ball.
The 34-year-old later returned with the ball for his final over in the 17th and removed Robin Minz, Bal Krishna (0), and Vivek Anand Tiwari (0) to finish with figures of 4-1-6-3. Bhuvneshwar’s spell eventually turned out to be the game-changer as UP edged out Jharkhand by 10 runs.
Bhuvneshwar is the fourth bowler to record a hat-trick this SMAT season after Akash Madhwal, Shreyas Gopal and Felix Alemao.
During Uttar Pradesh’s opening Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Delhi at the Wankhede Stadium last month, Bhuvneshwar became the first Indian pacer to bag 300 T20 wickets, eclipsing Jasprit Bumrah to the mark. Only spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (364), Piyush Chawla (319) and R Ashwin (310) have picked up more wickets than Bhuvneshwar in the T20 format among Indians. 90 of Bhuvneshwar’s career wickets have come in national colours between 2012 and 2022, making him the second-highest wicket-taking pacer for India.
The swing king from Meerut made his T20 debut in a Champions League T20 game in 2009 for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He went wicketless in his maiden outing, conceding 31 runs in four overs against Delhi Daredevils. In 176 games, Bhuvneshwar has racked up 181 wickets, making him the most successful seamer in the tournament’s history.
Bhuvneshwar was roped in by RCB at the IPL 2025 Mega Auction for Rs 10.75 crore.
