IND vs AUS 2017, 2nd ODI: Our Spinners are Bowling Better and They Cannot Pick Them – Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Sep 22, 2017 at 10:49 AM
With only 252 runs on the board, India needed to have a good start with the ball to make early inroads in the second One-Day International against Australia on Thursday (September 21), and their pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar rose to the occasion.
The right-arm pacer rocked Australia’s top-order, dismissing Hilton Cartwright and David Warner with two absolute beauties to set the tone for India’s victory. Barring a few moments, the world champions never looked in contention to chase down the total on a double-paced Eden Gardens pitch and were eventually all out for 202, as India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Speaking after the game, Bhuvneshwar admitted that there was a plan in place for the Australian openers.
“Yes, I planned. First bowl I bowled I knew there is some swing on the wicket,” Bhuvneshwar said at the post-match press conference. “Especially for Warner, generally I bowl outswingers to him in Tests also so I knew there is a good chance I can get him out. And for Cartwright, it was normal, top of off-stump for him.”
The Uttar Pradesh star wrapped up the match by trapping Kane Richardson, thus bringing an end to the nervous moments towards the end of the game when Marcus Stoinis was threatening to take the game away. Bhuvneshwar returned with impressive figures of 3/9 in 6.1 overs.
The moment of the match, meanwhile, came in the 33rd over when Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Mathew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins in successive deliveries to complete his maiden ODI hat-trick. The Indian spinners had picked up five wickets in the first game in Chennai, and picked up the same number of wickets once again.
When asked whether the visitors are struggling to pick the spinners, Bhuvneshwar said:
“Our bowlers are bowling too well maybe. They score off our spinners in the IPL so they (Australia) can play spin. Our bowlers then are maybe bowling better here, and they cannot pick them.”
Bhuvneshwar also opened up on his evolution as a fast-bowler.
“When I started, I used to depend on conditions. Then I started improving as I played more international cricket. The more you play you know the areas you need to improve on. One year after I started playing, I knew I had to increase the pace,” he said.
“I had no clue how to do it. Then our trainer came Mr (Shankar) Basu, and he changed the training regime. Knowingly or unknowingly, my pace increased and with that my death bowling also improved,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar had also impressed with his batting in recent weeks. He had scored a match-winning fifty in the last ODI series against Sri Lanka, and most recently played a crucial knock of 32 not out in the series-opener in Chennai.
“I haven’t tried anything differently. I have natural talent, and I know I can bat. Especially when it comes to Tests, I can continue. In ODIs, you have to hit at my position, and I don’t have that ability. But in the last three-four matches, the situations I got myself in, 10-15 overs I batted and in Sri Lanka I got the confidence that I can contribute in ODI as well. My batting coach Sanjay Bangar has worked on my batting as well,” he said.