Ranji Trophy 2024: Bhuvneshwar Kumar stuns Bengal with epic 5-fer on comeback

The second round of Ranji Trophy 2024 began today on Friday, January 12, as thirty-two teams in the Elite Group stage are fighting it out in India's premier domestic tournament. While a lot of cricketing action is up for display, ace seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar marked a 'first-class' return in whites. Playing against Bengal, Bhuvneshwar finished the Day 1 by collecting a five-wicket haul against his name.

At Stumps, his bowling figures read 5/25 in 13 overs, three out of which were maiden. Notably, all the five wickets picked by Uttar Pradesh went to the tally of the UP-born, as Bengal remained on *82/5 after 28 overs on the first day. Thus, the Meerut pacer has surely marked his comeback to first-class cricket with a bang to return to the format after almost six years.

Watch Bhuvneshwar's five-for on Day 1 here:

Speaking of the match, UP had to bat first after Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary chose to utilize the conditions well at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. The visiting captain's decision proved to be spot on, as Nitish Rana & Co. fell like a pack of cards. Bengal pacers Ishan Porel (2/24), Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (3/20), and Mohammad Kaif (4/14) were too hot to handle for the hosts, as they got bundled out for 60 in the first innings.

However, just when the visiting side thought they had a tighter grip on the game, Bhuvi ran a rampage on the opposition batters, taking two wickets in three balls in the eleventh over. Exactly six overs later, the pacer got the better of experienced Bengali Anustup Majumdar. And he didn't stop there, as the India cricketer went on to take the numbers of Tiwary followed by stumper-batter Abishek Porel.

This stupendous show by the swing maestro left Bengal in some sort of trouble, although they did manage to advance by 35 runs over UP before umpires took the bails off. Currently, opener Shreyansh Ghosh (37*) and Karan Lal (8*) are unbeaten, while the scoreboard reads 95/5 after 28 overs, and will begin tomorrow from where they left on Day 1.