Bhuvneshwar Kumar registers career best figures on return to red-ball cricket after six years

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar registered his best bowling figures on his return to red-ball cricket after a gap of eight years. Playing for Uttar Pradesh in the Elite Group B match in Kanpur against Bengal, the right-arm pacer registered figures of 8/41 in the first innings.

The 33-year-old last played a first-class match back in January 2018 when India took on South Africa in Johannesburg. Bhuvneshwar Kumar last represented India in November 2022 when India locked horns against New Zealand in a T20I match in Napier.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc in his comeback first-class match. After Uttar Pradesh got bundled out for 60 in just 20.5 overs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar registered his career-best figures to bundle out Bengal for 188. The Meerut-born cricketer dismissed the top-six of Bengal batting line-up.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's previous best figures in an innings was 6/77 in a first-class match. His best figures in an innings of a Test match is 6/82 versus England at Lord's. In ODI cricket, Bhuvneshwar Kumar once picked five wickets for 42 runs against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

The experienced campaigner has been vying for an India comeback with his performances in domestic cricket. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023, he picked 11 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 16.90 and an economy rate of 4.96. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023, he picked 16 wickets in seven matches at an average of 9.31 and an economy rate 5.84.