Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a forgettable outing on Tuesday as the Lucknow Falcons clashed with the in-form Meerut Mavericks in the UP T20 League. Despite a promising start with the ball, Bhuvneshwar’s final over was dismantled by Rituraj Sharma, shifting the momentum entirely in the Mavericks’ favour.
After conceding just 20 runs in his first three overs, Bhuvneshwar returned to bowl the 19th over with hopes of applying the brakes. Instead, it turned into a nightmare for the experienced bowler. Rituraj, batting on 46 at the start of the over, launched an all-out assault, dispatching the first ball for a towering six. He crashed four consecutive boundaries and ended the over with another maximum. The 29-run over lifted Meerut to an imposing total of 233 for four in their 20 overs, firmly putting them in control of the game.
The spell not only dented Falcons’ hopes of a late comeback but also raised concerns about Bhuvneshwar’s current form. With figures of 1 for 49 in four overs, the right-arm seamer has now taken just four wickets in five matches this season. His strike rate of 30 and an economy nearing 8.10 have sparked discussions ahead of the IPL 2026 retention window, especially within the Royal Challengers Bengaluru camp, where he played a key role in their title run earlier this year.
Mavericks win rather comfortably
233 runs were more than enough for the Mavericks as they defeated the Falcons by 93 runs at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. With the bat, Sameer Choudhary showed some intent, scoring 46 runs, but he barely had support from the other end. The wickets fell like a house of cards towards the end, as they were bundled for 140 runs only.
Meanwhile, apart from Rituraj, who ended up scoring an unbeaten 74, Rinku Singh and Swastik Chikara had a gun day. Opener Swastik made 55 runs off 31 balls, while Rinku made 57 off 27. Ritik Vats finished the innings strongly, with his blistering knock off 35 runs off just eight balls.