Bhuvneshwar Kumar reached a major IPL milestone on Sunday, becoming the league’s second-fastest wicket-taker to 200 dismissals after Yuzvendra Chahal. The bowler logged his landmark wicket by dismissing Chennai Super Kings batter Ayush Mhatre in Bengaluru, underlining how consistently he has impacted games across seasons.
Quick facts
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar took his 200th IPL wicket by dismissing Ayush Mhatre in Bengaluru on Sunday.
- He is the second bowler to reach 200-plus IPL wickets after Yuzvendra Chahal, who reached the milestone in 2024 and has 224 wickets to date.
- Only four other bowlers have 200-plus wickets in a T20 competition, all from England’s T20 Blast: Danny Briggs (268), Samit Patel (230), Chris Wood (210), and David Payne (210).
- Bhuvneshwar’s IPL economy rate stands at 7.69, with a career spanning 16 seasons.
- He has 81 IPL powerplay wickets, including 27 in the opening over of innings.
- At the death (overs 17–20), he has 93 IPL wickets, with an economy of 9.52.
Beyond the IPL, 200-plus wickets in a T20 competition is a rare marker. In England’s T20 Blast, only Danny Briggs (268), Samit Patel (230), Chris Wood (210) and David Payne (210) have crossed that threshold.
Economy, milestones and phases
Bhuvneshwar’s overall IPL economy rate of 7.69 is notable given his long run of 16 seasons. He has also produced multiple five-wicket hauls in the competition and has bowled the joint highest number of maiden overs, adding to his value in tight phases.
In the powerplay, he has been especially productive, taking 81 wickets—more than any other bowler in that phase. Twenty-seven of those came while bowling the first over of an innings, trailing only Trent Boult’s 32.
His control early in games has kept batters from running away with momentum. With an economy of 6.53 during the powerplay, only three bowlers who have completed 100-plus powerplay overs have managed a better figure than him.
At the other end of the innings, Bhuvneshwar has also accumulated key strikes. In the death overs (17–20), he has 93 wickets, just behind Dwayne Bravo’s 102, while his economy in this segment is 9.52—ranked fifth best among the 16 bowlers who have bowled at least 90 overs in that phase.
His journey began in the IPL in 2011 with Pune Warriors India, where he spent three seasons. The big chapter came after that move to Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he played for 11 seasons from 2014 to 2024, featuring in 145 matches and taking 157 wickets.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, his presence has been unmatched in volume and impact. No other player has represented the franchise in even 100 IPL games, and no one else has reached 100-plus wickets for SRH in league cricket. Among franchise wicket tallies across the IPL, only a trio of bowlers have gone beyond 150 for a single team: Sunil Narine (193) for Kolkata Knight Riders, Jasprit Bumrah (183) for Mumbai Indians, and Lasith Malinga (170) for Mumbai.
Bhuvneshwar’s home numbers with Hyderabad add another layer to his record. His 48 wickets at the venue are the most by any bowler at a home ground in the IPL.
Peak years and Purple Cap impact
Between 2014 and 2017, Bhuvneshwar operated at an elevated level. In that stretch, he took 87 wickets in just 59 matches—17 more than the next best total in the same window. He won the Purple Cap for the first time in 2016 with 23 wickets, guiding SRH to their maiden IPL title.
He followed it up in 2017, adding 26 wickets and defending his Purple Cap. To date, he remains the only player to top the IPL wickets charts in consecutive seasons, while Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel are the only other bowlers to have managed the feat twice in their careers.
During those four peak seasons, his economy rate was 7.25, placing him fourth among the 28 bowlers who have delivered 100-plus overs in that period. The three players with better economy than him were all spinners. His strike rate in that run—one wicket every 15.3 balls—was also the fourth-best among 29 players who finished with at least 30 wickets.
Matchups and recurring scalps
Some batters have struggled to find answers against him, and Ajinkya Rahane is a standout example. Rahane has been dismissed by Bhuvneshwar seven times in 117 balls, scoring just 104 runs in those encounters. Parthiv Patel is next on the list with six dismissals, achieved in only 68 balls.
Bhuvneshwar has also taken big names repeatedly over the years, dismissing Virat Kohli, Shane Watson, Sanju Samson and Shubman Gill on four occasions apiece. Watson, in particular, couldn’t get going, managing only 78 off 88 balls against him, while Gill’s record in those matchups reads 66 off 64 deliveries.
