Bhuvneshwar delivers 'the perfect response' against DC on challenging Delhi surface

In T20 cricket, a single over — whether brilliant or disastrous — can swing the game completely. On Sunday night in Delhi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled one such pivotal over. With Delhi Capitals (DC) building steadily on a tricky pitch, Bhuvneshwar’s 17th over changed the course of the match. He removed KL Rahul, expected to anchor the innings, and Ashutosh Sharma, a key finisher, in the space of five balls. As Anil Kumble summed up, "Bhuvi had the perfect answer."

"Bhuvi has always been special," Kumble said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat DC by six wickets to top the IPL 2025 table.
"He picks up early wickets, knows exactly how to bowl at the death, and is remarkably consistent. You rarely see batters dominating him. On a pitch like this, he bowled a perfect second spell, taking the crucial wicket of KL Rahul, who was probably aiming to take the game deep and target the death overs."

At 35, and seemingly out of the international picture, Bhuvneshwar continues to adapt and thrive as a white-ball bowler. While not the flashiest performer, his consistency remains his trademark. In IPL 2025, he has quietly supported Purple Cap leader Josh Hazlewood and allrounder Krunal Pandya, taking 12 wickets in nine games at an economy of 8.35. Only once has he gone wicketless, and just twice — against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede and Rajasthan Royals at home — has he been expensive.

On Sunday, DC seemed set for a bigger total with Rahul and Tristan Stubbs at the crease. But Bhuvneshwar’s second ball of the 17th over, a pitched-up scrambled seam delivery, saw Rahul mistime a shot to the deep. Four balls later, Ashutosh was completely deceived by a slower leg-cutter, bowled trying to steer the ball behind point.

Bhuvneshwar finished with impressive figures of 3 for 33.
"His two or three key variations keep him relevant," Wasim Jaffer observed on the same show.
"The yorker, the hard-length delivery, the knuckleball — he never gives width, and it’s very tough for batters to line him up."

Though Stubbs' late 34 off 18 balls lifted DC to 162, without Bhuvneshwar’s 17th — and his tight final over that conceded only six runs and included Stubbs' dismissal — RCB would likely have faced a much steeper chase.

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