Watch: Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivers unplayable inswinger to get rid of Jos Buttler for golden duck
The pacer delivered an impactful new-ball spell of 1/10 off his 3 overs in India's win in the first T20I.
It was only a three-over burst from Bhuvneshwar Kumar but made a hell lot of difference in the end outcome of India's opening T20I of the series against England on Thursday (July 7) in Southampton.
With India defending a score of 198/8 on a surface that was always expected to aid a high-scoring affair, Bhuvneshwar dented England significantly by delivering a spell of 1/10 off 3 overs.
It pushed their batters back and forced the hosts to take excessive risks against others, which meant more wicket-taking opportunities and England eventually finished 50 runs short of the target. A huge margin by T20I standards.
The highlight of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's fantastic spell was the wicket of the opposition skipper and the ever-explosive batter, Jos Buttler, whom the right-arm seamer set up with a beauty that sneaked through his defence on swing and disturbed the furniture behind him.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismisses Jos Buttler with an inswinging pearl
The dismissal took place at the beginning of England's run-chase and proved to be a blow they could never recover from. Bhuvneshwar Kumar got it to tail into the right-hander late, which gave Buttler absolutely no chance to make a late adjustment and he was forced to hear the sound of stumps getting shattered behind him.
The batter perhaps faltered in getting too early into his stroke on the up. But that was also entirely Bhuvneshwar's doing, as the previous five deliveries of his over had gone for just one and this was the crucial powerplay stage that England could ill-afford wasting.
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Trying to take the game to the Indian spearhead and get the England innings going, Buttler fell to a proper inswinger that proved too good for even the world's best white-ball batter right now.
What a beauty from Bhuvi!!!pic.twitter.com/tFQOVWZ552
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 7, 2022
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It was another shining example of what Bhuvneshwar Kumar can manage to do early into a T20I match and why the selectors have entrusted him in the format despite previous fitness issues. Even though the pacer has been axed from India's ODI plans, he remains an integral part of things heading into the T20 World Cup in Australia this year.