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Crafty Bhuvi swinging things his way

Last Updated 22 September 2017, 19:38 IST

Hat-trick hero Kuldeep Yadav walked away with the man of the match honours and most of the adulation but if an award had to be given for sheer match-turning impact, then it would have undoubtedly gone to Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The wily pacer, who has become a lethal limited-overs bowler upfront and at the back end of the innings as well, gave another demonstration of his mastery over swing and movement that has flummoxed many top-order batsmen.

Extracting plenty of help from a helpful Eden Gardens track, the 27-year-old kept troubling the Australian openers Hilton Cartwright and David Warner. He moved the ball both ways effortlessly; the nippy pace adding to the openers’ woes. With Jasprit Bumrah also bowling brilliantly from the other end, pressure kept mounting on the openers who eventually succumbed to the guile of Bhuvneshwar.

The Meerut pacer swung one back in and Cartwright, playing in just his second one-day international and finding the high-quality bowling hard to cope with, missed the line completely and saw his stumps rearranged. In the next over, Bhuvneshwar saw the back of his Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner with another peach. He got one to move away and the Australian, with no feet movement whatsoever, nicked it straight to Ajinkya Rahane at second slip. Australia were reduced to 9/2.

Defending 252, this was the start India wanted, with Bhuvneshwar delivering it, just like he has done so often in his career and more so since the start of last year. He is able to move the ball both ways and his length has been impeccable. That mounts the pressure on the batsmen, who don’t have the luxury of playing too many dot deliveries.

The soft-spoken Bhuvneshwar, who during the early stages of his career was largely effective only at the start of the innings when the new ball swung a lot more, has become potent during the death as well now. He doesn’t bowl too many yorkers like Bumrah but fools the batsmen with his clever change of pace and variation in length.

Another major improvement in Bhuvneshwar, who has thrust himself as the lead pacer in limited overs from the start of this year despite heavy competition, is his ability to be potent on tracks that don’t offer much help to swing bowlers. He has been the standout bowler for Sunrisers, picking up the Purple Cap for the most number of wickets for the last two seasons. His brilliant performances have been on tracks tailor-made for batsmen to lay siege on bowlers.

Bhuvneshwar attributed his resurgence to a change in fitness regimen. “When I came in first, I needed swinging conditions to flourish. A year after making my debut, I wanted to increase my pace, but I had no clue how to go about that. Our trainer Mr (Shanker) Basu introduced me to a different type of training that eventually helped me increase my pace. That, in turn, went on to help me bowl at the death too.”

Bhuvneshwar has not just made strides in becoming an all-weather all-situation bowler but has also worked hard on his batting to make match-winning contributions. In the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, India, bamboozled by the spin of Akila Dananjaya, were staring down the barrel at 131/7 while chasing 231. Bhuvneshwar, a good lower-order batsman in Test cricket, slammed an 80-ball 53 that was crucial in India’s win.

In the first ODI versus Australia, he scored an unbeaten 32, again forging a good alliance with M S Dhoni to take India to a respectable total. “I have a natural talent of sorts when it comes to batting,” said Bhuvneshwar.

“It’s very different in Tests and ODIs though. ODI is a format where I mostly need to hit out at the position where I come out to bat. The knock against Sri Lanka actually gave me a lot of confidence. There is now a mindset that I need to make partnerships. It didn’t happen a couple of times I tried, but there is genuine intent to do well with the bat. Sanjay Bangar, our batting coach, also deserves some credit. He has worked on my batting a bit ahead of Tests.”

DH News Service

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(Published 22 September 2017, 19:38 IST)

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