Bhuvneshwar Kumar put on a show at the death alongside Josh Hazlewood against the Punjab Kings on Sunday afternoon as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) continued their spotless away record in the ongoing season of the IPL. Kumar has been sensational for RCB, economical, efficient and effective and even though he didn't pick wickets on Sunday in Mullanpur, the veteran pacer conceded just 26 runs in his four overs, which played a huge part in RCB chasing just 157 against the Kings.
With his 26-run spell, Kumar surpassed Piyush Chawla on the list of most runs conceded by a bowler in the IPL as he moved to the second spot, having given away 5,130 runs in 183 matches in the cash-rich league, only behind R Ashwin, who was also in action against the Mumbai Indians for Chennai Super Kings later in the day.
Most runs conceded by a bowler in IPL
5592 - R Ashwin (CSK, DC, RR, KXIP, RPS) in 215 innings
5130 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB, SRH, PWI) in 183 innings
5108 - Piyush Chawla (MI, CSK, KKR, KXIP) in 191 innings
5030 - Ravindra Jadeja (CSK, RR, KTK, GL) in 219 innings
4844 - Yuzvendra Chahal (MI, PBKS, RR, RCB) in 167 innings
Bhuvneshwar has formed a potent bowling combination at the top and at the death alongside Hazlewood and with Yash Dayal, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma proving to be effective more often than not, RCB bowlers have driven the team's success in the ongoing season of the IPL. If they win the toss and get a chance to look at the opposition at home, not long before they start getting results at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as well.
With five wins in eight matches, RCB are in the top four currently and would hope to string a couple of wins together at home to push for a top-two spot with the race towards a spot in the playoffs intensifying with the likes of Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and now even the Mumbai Indians in the running, with the late charge.