IPL: Bhuvneshwar Kumar overtakes Lasith Malinga in wicket-taking charts

Bhuvneshwar Kumar ((Pic: File Pic)

Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar overtook former Mumbai Indians pacer Lasith Malinga to become the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the history of the Indian Premier League.

Bhuvneshwar achieved the milestone in the IPL 2024 game against Chennai Super Kings.

In four overs, the SRH pacer bagged one wicket for 28 runs at an economy of 7.00. He removed CSK opening batsman Rachin Ravindra.

So far, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has played in 164 IPL matches and has registered 171 wickets at an average of 26.63. His best bowling figures are five wickets for 19 runs.

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Malinga in 122 matches for Mumbai Indians, took 170 wickets at an average of 19.79, with the best bowling figures of 5/13.

The top wicket-taker in IPL history is spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who has taken 193 wickets in 148 matches at an average of 21.3, with the best bowling figures of 5/40.

Coming to the match, SRH won the toss and opted to bowl first. Rachin Ravindra (12) and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (26 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) got out early, reducing CSK to 54/2 in 7.1 overs.

Then knocks from Shivam Dube (45 in 24 balls, with two fours and four boundaries), Ravindra Jadeja (31 in 23 balls, with fours boundaries) and Ajinkya Rahane (35 in 30 balls, with two fours and six) took CSK to 165/5 in their 20 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/28), T Natarajan (1/39), skipper Cummins (1/29) and Jaydev Unadkat (1/29) were among the wickets for SRH.

In the run-chase, Travis Head (31 in 24 balls, with three fours and a six) and Abhishek Sharma (37 in 12 balls, with three fours and four sixes) started off really well, taking SRH to 106 in 9.4 overs. Aiden Markram scored a brilliant half-century (50 in 36 balls, with four boundaries and a six). Heinrich Klaasen (10') and Nitish Reddy (11') took SRH to a six-wicket win.

Moeen Ali (2/23) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK. Deepak Chahar and Maheesh Theekshana got a wicket too.

Abhishek's explosive knock earned him the 'Player of the Match' award.

SRH has climbed to the fifth spot with two wins and two losses in four games, giving them four points. With the same win-loss ratio, CSK is at the third spot with four points due to a better run-rate.

(With ANI Inputs)