The Indian bowlers had an off day on the 4th day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, as they conceded too many runs by bowling loose deliveries and ended up allowing a huge 122-run lead to the visitors.
Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar feels it was the visible discomfort of their batsmen struggling on the first-day pitch which made them over-excited and they ended up bowling many loose deliveries, and it was Rangana Herath who cashed in on the opportunity and scored a breezy half-century.
“We were all excited to bowl on that wicket, having seen the way Sri Lankan pacers performed. But the wicket changed totally. Yes, we could have stopped a few runs. The only thing we could have tried was that we could have a bit more patient,” Bhuvneshwar said admitting the mistakes of the bowler on Day 3.
He further added they were off target for a majority of Day three.
”We could have stopped the lead under 60-70 runs. The high humidity made us tired, and we bowled a few bad balls. We could have improved on that,” Bhuvneshwar said.
When asked whether changing to red ball cricket from white ball cricket affected their rhythm Bhuvneshwar said,
“Umesh and Shami are coming from playing Ranji Trophy. I don’t think we had any problem as it’s just about adjusting your line and length. I got my rhythm and will look to continue in coming matches.”
He was the pick of the Indian bowlers bagging 4/88, but it was Shami who made a terrific comeback after sustaining cramps on Day 3 and ended up finishing with 4/100.
“Shami was a bit unlucky yesterday and had a cramp. He bowled brilliantly; it was amazing to see him bowl like that.”
The home team made a terrific comeback in the 2nd innings ridding on brilliant knocks by Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul. The duo of Dhawan and Rahul shared a brilliant opening stand of 166-runs, as India went past Sri Lanka’s lead without any discomfort. At the end of the day, India had taken a lead of 49 runs when the bad light called a premature end to the day’s play. While Dhawan was dismissed for 94 while Rahul remained unbeaten on 73.
“I would not say we are completely satisfied but the way we started and wicket got better, and now we are happier. It’s evident from the way our batsmen are batting.”
Speaking on the chances of a sporting declaration on Day five Bhuvneshwar said,
“It depends, how captain and coach plan tomorrow. I can’t really say that thing now. It depends how we play the first hour, then see how thing goes.”
Bhuvi hailed Dhawan for putting India in a good position.
“It’s unlucky the way he got out. It was a tough wicket to bat. He batted well in second innings and put us in a good position.”
He also heaped praises on Rangana Herath who scored a magnificent 67 which took the visitor’s lead over the 100 run mark.
“He played really well. It was a crucial knock. We should have restricted the lead to within 70 runs, but he batted really well. He played all the shots he wanted, that’s how you bat on this wicket,” Bhuvneshwar concluded.