Bhuvneshwar Kumar showcased an outstanding bowling display in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, highlighting his recent signing by Royal Challengers Bangalore with an impressive hat-trick. Captaining Uttar Pradesh, he achieved remarkable figures of 3/6 against Jharkhand, ensuring a 10-run triumph for his team.
While defending a target of 161, Bhuvneshwar altered the course of the match in the 17th over by eliminating Robin Minz, Bal Krishna, and Vivekanand Tiwari with the first three deliveries, accomplishing a hat-trick in a triple-wicket maiden over. In spite of this exceptional display, Uttar Pradesh stands in sixth position in Group B with 8 points.
Bhuvneshwar, who has now taken nine wickets in the tournament, was recently acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹10. 75 crore during the 2025 IPL Mega Auction in Jeddah.
In another exciting match, Rajasthan established a target of 153 runs. Despite a fantastic 3/26 performance from Mohammed Shami, Bengal successfully chased the target in 18. 3 overs, thanks to Abishek Porel’s 78 off 48 balls.
Puducherry set a target of 176 runs for Railways, but Ashutosh Sharma’s unbeaten 50* off 22 balls guided Railways to an easy victory.
Gujarat scored an enormous total of 251/5, with Axar Patel smashing 56 off 20 balls, including six sixes. Karnataka could only manage 203 in reply, with Axar receiving Player of the Match accolades for his all-round performance, featuring figures of 2/22 with the ball.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s explosive 97 off 48 balls propelled Maharashtra to a commanding total of 232 against Services, who ended their chase at 190/8.
Ajinkya Rahane, recently recruited by Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, demonstrated his T20 skill with a brilliant 95 off 54 balls, leading Mumbai to successfully chase down 230 against Andhra Pradesh.
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Baroda set a new T20 record by amassing a colossal 349/5 against Sikkim at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore, breaking Zimbabwe’s former record of 344/4. In reply, Sikkim could only score 86/7.
Thursday’s matches also featured Punjab opener Abhishek Sharma making history with the second-fastest T20 century ever. He scored an unbeaten 106 off just 29 balls, hitting 11 sixes and 8 fours, against Meghalaya. Abhishek’s century, finished in just 28 balls, matched the record set by Gujarat’s Urvil Patel in the same tournament last week. His extraordinary innings was played at an astonishing strike rate of 365. 52, as Punjab chased down Meghalaya’s target of 143 in just 9. 3 overs.
