NewKerala.com

Bhuvneshwar Kumar Leads Purple Cap Race with 21 Wickets in IPL 2026

Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his stellar IPL 2026 form, taking 4/23 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Mumbai Indians in Raipur. He now leads the Purple Cap race with 21 wickets, marking his fourth IPL season with 20+ wickets. Kumar's six three-wicket hauls this season equal Harshal Patel's 2021 record. Despite his bowling, MI posted 166/7, with Tilak Varma scoring a fifty, leaving RCB needing 167 to win.

Key Points: IPL 2026: Bhuvneshwar Takes Sixth Three-Wicket Haul

  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar takes 4/23 against MI
  • Leads Purple Cap race with 21 wickets
  • Sixth three-wicket haul of IPL 2026 season
  • Only Harshal Patel has achieved this feat before
  • MI posts 166/7 in 20 overs
2 min read

IPL 2026: Bhuvneshwar takes sixth three-wicket haul of season, leads Purple Cap race with 21 wickets

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 4/23 powers RCB against MI, leading Purple Cap race with 21 wickets. Sixth three-wicket haul of season equals Harshal Patel's record.

"This is the sixth occasion on which he has picked a three-wicket haul this season. - Match Report"

Raipur, May 10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his good form with the ball and picked four wickets for his side, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in the IPL 2026 match against Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Sunday.

The 36-year-old seamer is leading the wicket charts with 21 wickets and is the current holder of the Purple Cap. This is the fourth time he has taken 20+ wickets in an IPL season.

Kumar has won the Purple Cap twice before -- first in 2016 and then in the 2017 season. He has taken 12 wickets in the powerplay with an economy rate of 6.91.

He picked the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma in the match, while conceding 23 runs in his full quota of four overs.

This is the sixth occasion on which he has picked a three-wicket haul this season. Only Harshal Patel has achieved this feat before. Patel took six three-wicket hauls in the 2021 season.

Despite Bhuvneshwar's lethal bowling, MI's Naman Dhir and Tilak steered the team to a respectable total of 166/7 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium.

Tilak brought up his fifty off 37 balls in the 17th over as MI's score read 149/5 after 17 overs. However, Bhuvneshwar returned to continue haunting the MI batting lineup as he got rid of Tilak in the 18th over, reducing MI to the score of 155/6.

Hazlewood (1/43 in 4 overs) delivered a brilliant penultimate over as he got rid of RCB's Raj Bawa (16) and conceded only six runs.

With MI's Corbin Bosch and Deepak Chahar at the crease, Rasikh Salam Dar delivered the last over and gave away only five runs, restricting 166/7 in 20 overs.

RCB, who came into the match on the back of two successive defeats, will need 167 runs to win and inch closer to solidifying their chances of a final four finish.

- ANI

Share this article:

Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Honestly, RCB fans must be nervous after back-to-back losses. But Bhuvneshwar's form is a silver lining. His powerplay economy of 6.91 is unbelievable in T20s. Hope the batters show up today. 👏
A
Aman W
Great performance by Bhuvi but I feel a bit for MI. Tilak played a solid knock under pressure. Without his 50, they would have been bowled out for 130. RCB should chase this easily though.
S
Sarah B
As an RCB fan, I’m loving this Bhuvneshwar resurgence. He’s been our most consistent bowler this season. Harshal Patel's record of six three-wicket hauls in 2021 was incredible, but Bhuvi is matching it with pure swing bowling. Class act! 😎
V
Varun X
Bhuvneshwar picking Rohit and Surya in the same spell is no small feat. Those are two of the best batters in world cricket. His experience is invaluable for RCB’s playoff push. But can the batting finally click? That’s the real question.
K
Kavya N
Tilak Varma played a brilliant knock but Bhuvneshwar’s spell was the difference. He’s like fine wine—getting better with age. That said, I wish the Indian selectors would give him a chance in T20Is again. He still has plenty left! 🏏🇮🇳

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50