Bhuvneshwar Kumar creates history with sensational hat-trick and triple-wicket maiden in SMAT: 'Australia beckons for him now'

Despite Jharkhand chasing 161 to win, Bhuvneshwar showcased a brilliant spell in the 17th over, dismissing Robin Minz, Bal Krishna, and Vivekanand Tiwari off the first three balls. He continued his dominance with three more dot balls, securing a maiden over. Nitish Rana and Mohsin Khan also impressed by grabbing two wickets each, helping UP successfully defend the target. Anukul Roy's explosive 91 went in vain as UP secured the win. Despite the victory, Uttar Pradesh is currently placed at the sixth position in Group B with 8 points.

Bhuvneshwar, who has now taken his wickets tally to 9 in the tournament, was picked up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru two weeks ago at the 2025 IPL mega-auction Jeddah. The once spearhead of India's pace-bowling attack, Bhuvneshwar's decade-long association with Sunrisers Hyderabad ended when the franchise released him; however, as the old adage goes, when one door closes, another one opens. For Bhuvneshwar, that door was opened by RCB, who shelled ₹10.75 crore to get Bhuvi.

Before this, Bhuvneshwar was coming off another three-wicket-haul – 3/28 – against Haryana, but his hat-trick on Thursday sent the internet into a frenzy as fans erupted with joy seeing their original Indian swing-king bowl just like he did in the old days. In fact, some even wanted the selectors to send Bhuvneshwar on the next flight to Australia.

Here are some of the posts:

Bhuvneshwar's last match for India was against India at Napier in November 2022, shortly after the T20 World Cup. It has been over two years since Bhuvi returned to the national fold. The reasons are many, including injuries and lack of form, to name a few, but Bhuvneshwar makes it a point to turn up each year in the IPL and put on a show. Last year, he picked up 16 wickets from 14 matches and took 11 wickets this year in SRH's road to the final.