Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled his first ball in international cricket after gap of nearly four years in 1st T20I vs New Zealand at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday.
Published: October 22, 2026, 1:49 PM IST
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Team India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar(Source: X)
IND vs NZ 2026 1st T20: The last time that Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled in international cricket was back in Napier against New Zealand in 2022Although the veteran Indian pacer made his comeback in the fifth and final T20I against West Indies in Bengaluru on Sunday, he didn’t get the chance to bowl as the match was washed out due to rain.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer bowled his first delivery in international cricket in after nearly four years in the first game against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on ThursdayBhuvneshwar started off the game with successive dot balls against New Zealand opener Tim Seifert.
The dot balls helped Bhuvneshwar Kumar set a new world record in T20I cricketHe became the top bowler (from Test playing nations) to bowl the most dot balls in Powerplay overs in T20I cricketBhuvi now has 680 dot balls in Powerplay overs, surpassing former New Zealand captain Tim Southee, who had 679 dot balls.
Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava is in third spot with 674 dot ballTeam India pacer Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah hold the 6th and 7th place in the list with 576 and 569 dot balls respectively.
Here is a list of bowlers with most dot balls in T20I Powerplay overs…
680 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India)
679 – Tim Southee (New Zealand)
674 – Richard Ngarava (Zimbabwe)
625 – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
614 – Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe)
576 – Arshdeep Singh (India)
569 – Jasprit Bumrah (India)
WATCH Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s record-breaking dot ball in 1st T20I match vs New Zealand HERE…
First ball back in international cricket, and Bhuvi looks like he never left!
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Bhuvneshwar, who was retained for Rs 10.75 crore by RCB ahead of IPL 2026, was the leading wicket-taker for his franchise with 28 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 17.89The 36-year-old Uttar Pradesh pacer is playing his 88th T20I match and first after 2022He has claimed 90 wickets in these games and started off by conceding only 4 runs in his opening over.
However, the experienced pacer made the cardinal sin of bowling a no-ball to start off his second overSeifert then opened his shoulders and smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 17 runs in his second over.
Seifert and Finn Allen put on 49 runs for the first wicket inside the first five overs before Mayank Yadav got the former to edge to the keeper for 24 off 18 balls with 1 six and 3 foursKolkata Knight Riders opener Allen was looking in blazing touch before falling to Axar Patel for 45 off 24 balls with two sixes and 5 fours.
