“Looked a bit off” – R Ashwin on RCB star after NZ vs IND 2026 3rd T20I

After India’s win in the third T20I against New Zealand, former player Ravichandran Ashwin has opined that Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked a bit off. He pointed out that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) seamer was down on pace and couldn’t swing the ball either.

Bhuvneshwar registered figures of 0/40 in four overs as New Zealand set India a 199-run target in Wellington on Tuesday, October 27. The Men in Blue then achieved the target with six wickets and 40 balls to spare, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Reviewing the game on SonyLIV, Ashwin was asked whether he would rate Bhuvneshwar’s performance in the third T20I as a hit or a miss.

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar in his third match is a miss for me. Look, anybody can go for runs. I would actually take the previous two games of Bhuvi. I thought he bowled really well upfront. He swung the ball and bowled the third over inside the Powerplay in the previous game,” the legendary spinner responded.

“So, it’s very understandable to have one bad over in the back half, but in this game, I thought his pace was down. The swing was missing. Just didn’t look like he was running up to the crease as well as he could. Looked a bit off, and I think it’s been a very big miss,” he added.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded only four runs, including a leg-bye, in the first over of New Zealand’s innings. However, Finn Allen smashed him for two sixes in his second over, and he wasn’t given another over in the Powerplay.

“I wouldn’t really put it as a miss or a hit” – R Ashwin on Shreyas Iyer after NZ vs IND 2026 3rd T20I

In the same interaction, Ravichandran Ashwin was asked whether he would rate Shreyas Iyer‘s performances in the series as a hit or a miss.

“It was actually a good knock in the first one. He missed out on the second. He got out to a full toss today (Tuesday). I wouldn’t really put it as a miss or a hit. It’s been a mishit for me. He really aced the chase in the first innings and got out playing a big shot in the previous one,” he replied.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the Indian skipper would have found it tough walking out to bat after Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s explosive partnership.

“It’s very difficult to walk into a game that’s been blown away by a cyclone. That was a storm. You can’t really match up to the pace they have gone at. It can be quite daunting to walk into a scenario like that,” Ashwin observed.

Shreyas Iyer (5 off 10) was caught in the deep while attempting a big hit off a Mitchell Santner full toss. Abhishek Sharma (113 off 38) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (45 off 19) had earlier stitched together a 133-run opening partnership in just 7.1 overs to virtually seal the game in India’s favor.

Edited by Kartik Iyer