Bhuvneshwar on cusp of becoming IPL’s leading wicket-taking quick, Samson’s dominance of spin continues & Abhishek rubbing shoulders with Head | Ipl News

In a week that hosted a slew of close shaves and heavily one-sided contests in the IPL, certain veterans and young guns unleashed versions of their best. So did the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who continued their relentless pursuit of elevating T20 batting.After picking up only three wickets in his first six matches this season, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has crafted a return to the peak of his prowess with the new ball for the Sunrisers.
In a humdinger run-fest where SRH trumped Rajasthan Royals one run, Bhuvneshwar cracked the top order castling Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson for ducks with his Player of the Match performance. He backed it up with economical returns against Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad celebrates the wicket of Rovman Powell of Rajasthan Royals during match 50 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on the 2nd May 2024. (Sportzpics)
Bhuvneshwar has risen to the top of the PowerPlay bowling charts with 10 scalps from 12 outings with an economy of 7.27, bettered only Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. A force with the new ball, Bhuvneshwar also equalled Boult for the most wickets in the first over of an innings (27) in the IPL.
The 34-year-old has bowled two maiden overs thus far this season, level with Khaleel Ahmed. Bhuvneshwar drew level with Praveen Kumar for the most maiden overs in the IPL, with his 14th maiden coming against MI. With 181 career wickets, Bhuvneshwar is only three short of becoming the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in the IPL.

He has picked up 71 wickets in the PowerPlay, the most among all bowlers, with the next-best Sandeep Sharma tallying 59 dismissals.
Will Samson complete the spin masterclass?
Sanju Samson smashed his fourth IPL hundred on Tuesday in Delhi. (BCCI)
While his charged counter-attack against Delhi Capitals in a 222-run chase ended in defeat, Sanju Samson maintained his command over the spinners. With DC posing the likes of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, Samson kept his anchor down against the tweakers and opted to take down the seamers. The RR skipper has, however, accumulated over 150 runs this year without being dismissed a spinner.
But who has recorded the most runs against spin in a season without being dismissed?
In 2013 and 2015, Virat Kohli maintained a superb slate over the spinners, accumulating 195 and 186 runs respectively, without being dismissed. The two efforts remain the best any batter against spin with no dismissals in an IPL edition. Yashasvi Jaiswal came close in 2023, recording 184 runs with no dismissals.
Kohli’s strength against spin peaked in 2016 when he smashed 364 runs at a 152.30 strike rate while falling twice. Only Shubman Gill (378 in 2023) has amassed more runs against spin in a season.

Stats after SRH vs LSG match on May 8
Abhishek Sharma breaks a 16-year-old record, has Kohli in sight
After obliterating Lucknow Super Giants 10 wickets in a 166-run chase in 9.4 overs, SRH rearranged a few more batting records in the league with openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head hoing other personal milestones.
Abhishek Sharma of Sunrisers Hyderabad plays a shot during match 57 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on the 8th May 2024. (Sportzpics)
🔴 17.27 – The run-rate for Abhishek and Head in their unbeaten stand, the highest among all 150-plus T20 stands in competitions held in full-member nations.
🔴 24* – Abhishek broke Sanath Jayasuriya’s record for most powerplay sixes a batter in an edition. The Sri Lankan legend had smashed 22 maximums in the powerplay in the 2008 season. Abhishek’s opening partner Head has also drawn level with Jayasuriya.
🔴 35 – Abhishek leads the six-hitting charts this season with 35 maximums and is only four short of breaking Virat Kohli’s tally from 2016 (38) for the most sixes an Indian in an IPL edition.
🔴 296.66 – Having remained unbeaten on 89 off only 30 deliveries, Head secured the highest strike rate a batter in an IPL innings (min. 30 balls). The dashing southpaw incidentally bettered his record from a match against Delhi Capitals earlier this season, where he struck 89 off 32 balls with a 278.12 strike rate.
🔴 386: Head’s powerplay tally from 11 innings is only behind David Warner’s haul of 467 PP runs in the 2016 season.
🔴 146*: SRH broke Chennai Super Kings’ record (145 in 2018) for most sixes hit in any IPL edition.
🔴 1015*: In 58 matches, the IPL 2024 season crossed the 1000-sixes mark, making it only the third edition after 2022 and 2023 to bear as many sixes. With 16 games remaining, the 17th season only requires another 110 maximums to extend the six-hitting record for a third straight year.