Such has been his authority and consistency that the Purple Cap hasn’t moved anywhere else after resting firmly on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s head. He was the holder of the prestigious cap last season too and leads the pack with a big margin again. From 13 games in VIVO IPL 2017, Bhuvneshwar has collected 25 wickets with an impressive economy of 6.97.

David Warner, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain and himself the holder of Orange Cap, has used Bhuvneshwar in the Powerplay, in death overs and also in the middle period. Not only has Bhuvneshwar adjusted to different surfaces and conditions so well, he has been judiciously digging into his bag of tricks. In the match against KXIP earlier in the tournament, he had unleashed his full range picking up a maiden five-for.

His experience has helped Siddarth Kaul bowl effectively in the slog overs and young Mohammed Siraj has benefited from his numerous interactions. On Saturday, the lanky Siraj took four wickets while Bhuvneshwar picked two as SRH made a sensational comeback, taking 43/10 after the Gujarat Lions opening pair had put up 111 on the board.

Siraj was carted from 22 from two overs but a timely suggestion from Bhuvneshwar helped changed the course and earned him the Man of the Match award. Bhuvneshwar had advised him to take the pace off. Siraj first removed Ishan Kishan, who had struck his maiden IPL fifty and in the same over got the big wicket of the GL captain Suresh Raina. Once he picked the No. 2 and No.3, Siraj cast his eye on the lower middle order and cleaned up James Faulkner and Pradeep Sangwan.

Post their eight wickets win that sealed SRH’s playoff berth, Bhuvneshwar and Siraj got together for a chat and the conversation revolved around Bhuvneshwar’s mastery over the yorker.

Siraj: What do you aim for when you bowl those yorkers?

Bhuvneshwar: When I bowl the yorker, I look at the toe of the batsman and aim to hit there. When I am bowling the wide yorker, I make use of the popping crease. Earlier, I would look to target the base of the stump and many times it resulted in me bowling the full toss and would mess it up. Now, I pitch the ball just where I am aiming to land it and it boosts my confidence.

Siraj: Do you vary your run-up speed when you are bowling the length ball or you do alter it when bowling the yorker?

Bhuvneshwar: Generally, when bowling the yorkers, you run fast and at times you may bowl too full in the process. When bowling a length ball, I don't run too fast and change my usual speed, as by running fast your body movement changes. Also, the rotation of the arm is important and that also changes if you speed up your run. My run-up does not change much whether I am bowling with the new ball or when I am looking to bowl the yorker.

Bhuvneshwar: After those two expensive overs, you picked four wickets from your next two. Tell us about this fine comeback.

Siraj: I conceded a lot of runs in the first two overs. It was such a crucial game for SRH as we had to win to qualify and I wanted to make an impression. I wanted to bowl well in the remaining two.

You told me to bowl a slower delivery outside off and I kept doing that and it worked. Ishan Kishan was a set batsman in the middle, so bowling slower balls helped. When I was bowling to James Faulkner, I realised the ball was reversing and in such a scenario, I thought i should bowl a length ball instead of going full and looking for yorkers.