"Sort of an artist now" is how Bhuvneshwar Kumar describes himself. Given that Bhuvneshwar, 36, had put on a bit of a show to set up and then complete a Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Raipur, Ambati Rayudu had good reason to be inventive in his descriptions.
When RCB needed nine off the final three balls, Bhuvneshwar's six off a yorker over the off-side field put his team within striking distance of victory. It was his four wickets that halted MI's progress in the first innings. In the end, it was finished off the last ball.

"I think it's just his ability and especially on a pitch like that where most of the balls would hit the stumps [that] he is even more lethal," Rayudu stated on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut following RCB's elimination of MI from the IPL 2026 playoffs.
"The ball usually misses the stumps when a batsman is beaten on a bouncy track, but on these kinds of pitches, he would essentially get you out lbw or caught behind."
"Today, we witnessed both Rohit Sharma's lucky ball, which consistently swings away, and a lovely slower ball. He is in complete control of it. He's starting to resemble an artist. He's just getting incredibly skilled at what he does."

Ryan Rickelton mistimed an effort to hit a good-length delivery to mid-off, resulting in strike one in the opening over. When Rohit's turn came next, he misread a knuckleball and ended up falling behind. The next ball was a typical Bhuvneshwar wicket: Suryakumar Yadav, who edged it to Virat Kohli at slip after a pitched-up delivery that swung late. In the 18th over, Tilak Varma nicked an attempted scoop to rearrange his wickets, resulting in the fourth.
After finishing with 4 for 23, Bhuvneshwar reached 21 wickets and the top spot in the Purple Cap standings.According to Deep Dasgupta, Bhuvneshwar's success can be attributed to the way he has been releasing the ball. This is similar to the mid-2010s, when he was at his best, playing frequently for India and winning the Purple Cap table twice in a row with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2016 and 2017.There was always the skill set. He's never been the fastest, so sometimes that release has caused him to lose some speed off the pitch, Dasgupta explained. "I believe he has regained it. He was excellent with his release [against MI]. I believe he has that backspin on the ball under control.

"And I've really made an effort to consider how we can see the release. Even at 133–134 kph, it's hard to see it [on TV], but you can sense it when you watch the batters play at it and sort of rush into their shots. The batters are being hurried by him. The batters are playing at him a bit late. That only indicates that he has regained that release.
The batting heroics followed.When asked what made him happier—all the wickets or that one hit off Raj Angad Bawa—Bhuvneshwar responded "six, for sure" in a post-match speech. "I've grabbed a few wickets because I've bowled [good] a lot in the past. However, this was what I found most enjoyable.

That stroke was attributed by Rayudu and Dasgupta to Bhuvneshwar's cricket acumen.Bhuvi actually plays that shot over the covers. Rayudu remarked, "I've seen him hit a couple sixes over covers." That's his strength, then. And Bawa bowled precisely where Bhuvi desired. Bhuvi's execution of it is still excellent. "First ball."
The next ball was covered by the cricket intelligence. Bawa's slower ball was despatched to long off by Bhuvneshwar. Non-striker Salam may have desired a close second run, but Bhuvneshwar declined. Salam faced the final ball, but Josh Hazlewood would have been on strike for the final ball if Bhuvneshwar had been run out going for the second.

"One of the things we keep talking about [when it comes to] Bhuvi is his skill and all, but obviously he's survived and done so well [over the years], it's not just because of his skill set [but] also is cricketing brains and is cricketing IQ," Dasgupta stated. "Today was a great example with the six and that single after that to kind of deny Rasikh who was running for the second."