Form is temporary, but RCB pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's evolution is permanent

Bengaluru: “I think ageing like a fine wine, so that’s all I can say,” replied Bhuvneshwar Kumar when Kiwi commentator Simon Doull asked him about his high fitness levels even at the age of 36.

The right-arm pacer was speaking right after his figures of 3/27, along with Josh Hazlwood’s 1/20 and Rasikh Dar’s 4/24, had set up Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s five-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants here on Wednesday.       

When Bhuvneshwar picked up Chennai Super Kings’ Ayush Mhatre bowling from the Rahul Dravid end at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on April 5, he became the first fast bowler ever to pick 200 IPL wickets and only the second man in the league after Yuzvendra Chahal to achieve the enormous feat. 

He is also the only pacer in the top-five IPL wicket-takers list. However, by his own admission, he said that the milestone was something for the future to look back after retirement rather than talking about it while still going strong.  

“It feels great when you achieve something like this. But for me, this is more to think back on when I retire, but happy to see the reward for what you (I) have done for so many years,” Bhuvneshwar said.

But then, the numbers get scarier and it makes you want to talk about him. No one in IPL’s history has picked up more wickets than Bhuvneshwar (83) in the first six overs. 

The 36-year-old has also bowled a whopping 1,317 dot balls in the powerplay phase, out of the 395 overs he has sent down so far. Converted, it comes to 219.3 overs of dots. To put that in perspective -- the next best is Trent Boult with 144.4 overs.

To achieve these numbers in a tournament, which largely rolls out flat surfaces, is more than just commendable. 

However, Bhuvneshwar is not just a powerplay operator. The Meerut man (97) is five wickets away from topping the wicket-taking column at the death (overs 16-20), only behind Dwayne Bravo’s 102.

While these numbers certainly add to Bhuvneshwar’ legacy, his greatness is in his ability to keep evolving while adding variations. The full repertoire was on full display against LSG.

While Player of the Match Hazlewood continued to hit the back of a length and cause damage, Bhuvneshwar unfurled his smarts to come up with an equally impressive spell, underlining his hunger to keep mastering the craft. 

“Bhuvi summed up the conditions in the first over, and then there were a few field changes. The communication within the bowling group, in particular, especially from Bhuvi, who bowls first up, is a real strength of ours,” Hazlewood said after the game.

When the surface is tacky or on the slower side, offering spongy bounce, like Chinnaswamy did on Wednesday, Bhuvneshwar bowled short of a length and cramped the batters for room.

While he contained batters in the first six, he picked up three wickets in a span of five balls at the death, all owing to his variety. He bowled a low full toss to Rishabh Pant which was hit straight to Phil Salt. He then bowled a wide one to George Linde and followed it up with an inch perfect yorker to Mohammed Shami.

Bhuvneshwar’s skills to swing the ball are apparent but his ability to hit the right areas more often than not is what keeps him relevant.