HYDERABAD: In the two matches that Sunrises Hyderabad have played in this season, their reputed bowling arsenal has been found lacking in many aspects.
No one other than Afghan wrist-spinner Rashid Khan has been able to make an impact. While Hyderabad’s bowling unit on the whole has been far from its best, there is one particular big name whose death-over performances this time — contrary to what he actually is known for — has especially been found wanting. The bowler who suddenly finds himself under the scanner is Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
On Friday night, he was taken apart by the Rajasthan Royals duo of Sanju Samson and Ben Stokes. The contrast between his first and second spell of that match highlighted his death-over issues. While he was able to restrain batsmen in his first two while giving away just 10, his last two cost 45.
In the team’s first encounter of the season, against Kolkata Knight Riders, something similar had transpired. Andre Russell tore into the 29-year-old, taking him for 21 runs off the 19th over as Kolkata mowed down 53 in the last three to win.
Sunrisers head coach Tom Moody, though, on Friday felt that Bhuvneshwar will shrug this issue off as the tournament progresses. “He bowled exceptionally well in the beginning. It’s quite harsh to analyse a bowler’s performance with just one over. It is important to not read too much into it.”
Moody might be right in some way; 12 more league matches remain for Hyderabad. But if this problem doesn’t seem to be a new one, going by Bhuvneshwar’s performances since the start of 2018.
The Meerut native is the third-most expensive bowler at the death in this period, leaking 210 off 103. In stark contrast, his death-over economy for 2016 and 2017 stands at 8.95. That apart, Bhuvneshwar has only two wickets in his last eight matches, conceding 283 in 31.1 overs.
These might be warning signs, but the speedster still has ample time to mitigate the damage incurred on his bowling statistics. But Bhuvneshwar will be up against some of the hardest hitters when Royal Challengers Bangalore take his team on Sunday.
Even though Bangalore fell short by a whisker, both skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers had looked in great touch against Mumbai Indians.
Asked whether Bhuvneshwar’s recent slump during the death overs will be something that Bangalore would want to take advantage of, opener Parthiv Patel said, “We are not too much worried about what Sunrisers have been doing. But if the ball is there to be hit, we will definitely try to do so. As far as taking advantage or going into a match with an advantage, such things do not exist in this format. It’s a new game, and we will have to make sure we bring our A game.”