Bhuvneshwar's Triple-Wicket Maiden Leads Uttar Pradesh to Narrow 10-Run Victory Over Jharkhand in SMAT
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Mumbai, Dec 5 (NationPress) Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered a remarkable triple-wicket maiden as Uttar Pradesh secured a tight 10-run victory over Jharkhand in the group-stage match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 161, Jharkhand showed resilience at times, but Bhuvneshwar's exceptional swing bowling disrupted their chase. Opening the bowling, the Meerut-born pacer allowed just six runs in his first three overs.
Upon returning for the 17th over, Bhuvneshwar executed a game-changing final over, taking out Robin Minz, Bal Krishna, and Vivek Anand Tiwari with consecutive deliveries to achieve a sensational feat. He concluded with outstanding figures of 4-1-6-3, ensuring Jharkhand fell short by 10 runs.
This marks Uttar Pradesh's fifth victory in seven matches, while it represents Jharkhand's second defeat in the same number of games.
This performance crowns a historic SMAT season for Bhuvneshwar. In Uttar Pradesh’s opener against Delhi last month, he became the first Indian pacer to surpass 300 T20 wickets, overtaking Jasprit Bumrah.
Bhuvneshwar has secured 90 T20I wickets from 2012 to 2022, making him India’s second-highest wicket-taking pacer in this format. He boasts 181 wickets in 176 SMAT matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Recently, the star seamer was acquired by Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the IPL 2025 Mega Auction for Rs 10.75 crore.
