Watch: Out-of-favour India quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar, playing his first first-class match in six years, ran through Bengal, picking up a five-wicket haul for Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Ranji Trophy.

At stumps on Day 1 in Kanpur, Bengal had been reduced to 95-5, with Bhuvneshwar claiming all five wickets. His figures read 13-3-25-5, having bowled nearly half of UP’s overs. Barring opener Sayan Ghosh, who remained not out on 37, no other Bengal batter has crossed 20 yet.

Bhuvneshwar’s spell came on the back of UP’s own batting capitulation: they were shot out for 60 in 20.5 overs, with Mohammed Kaif, the younger brother of Bhuvneshwar’s long-time India teammate Mohammed Shami, picking up a four-wicket haul in just his second first-class match.

Having elected to field first, Bengal started steadily, but a 32-run opening stand was broken by Bhuvneshwar, who then sparked a collapse with his immaculate line.

All of Bhuvneshwar’s typical characteristics were on display with neat lengths and some late movement, leaving little margin for the batters.

It was Bhuvneshwar’s first match with the red ball since the 2018 Johannesburg Test against South Africa, in which he was named Player of the Match. Post that, a combination of injuries and new competition meant that Bhuvneshwar did not add any further Test caps, although he remained active in the white-ball setup, especially T20Is.

In 2021, Bhuvneshwar denied rumours that he had “lost his drive to play Test cricket”,  hitting back at reports via a tweet.

So far, he has played 21 Tests, picking up 63 wickets at 26.09.

The leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers for India in T20Is, the 33-year-old hasn’t played for the national side since a T20I against New Zealand in November 2022. In October 2023, he became the first India bowler to record five T20 five-fors, while playing for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Watch Bhuvneshwar’s five-wicket haul

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