Ind vs Aus: Kohli credits Bhuvi for setting the winning tone

Samarth Srivastava
Published on: 21 Sep 2017 10:05 PM GMT
Ind vs Aus: Kohli credits Bhuvi for setting the winning tone
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Kolkata: This is the best phase in the cricketing career of Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar as his both in-swing and out-swing bowling attack is making batsmen land themselves in the soup.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday gave credit to pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for setting up India's victory against Australia in the Eden Gardens ODI with his superb opening spell that read 6-2-9-2.

After posting 252, India bundled out Australia for 202 to take a 2-0 lead in the five-game ODI series.

The 27-year old Kumar first got rid of Hliton Cartwright (1), beating his inside edge with the ball crashing onto his stumps and then sent David Warner (1) back into the hut with one that swung away.

Kumar was unlucky not to have got Travis Head, who was dropped on 15 by Rohit Sharma at first slip in the seventh over.

"Bhuvi's (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) spell became even very important, because we knew those two wrist spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) will probably do damage in the middle overs.

"So they (Australia) probably had to get a few runs in the first ten. And we needed a couple of breakthroughs. We almost got the third one as well. That would have been ideal.

"But I know he (Kumar) really set the tone with the six over spell of nine runs , picking up two wickets. That was outstanding. Deliveries that he got the batsman out were unplayable," said Kohli.

"That's what he brings to the table, you know. When there is bit of assistance from the pitch, you count on Bhuvi for getting you breakthroughs," the captain said.

Kohli said at the innings break, he felt India did not have enough on the board.

"But we knew if we have a breakthrough, we have a chance of having a go at defending the target. "We needed breakthroughs throughout. Bhuvi provided it initially. His spell is something that really set up the game for us, along with (Jasprit) Bumrah."

"We knew if we don't take wickets, it will be difficult with the outfield being a bit wet," he said.

Kohli sadi the wicket was not easy to bat on through the day.

"All the batsmen felt that. So it feels good to have come through at the end of the day," Kohli added.

The success of the two wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has kept the competition going for slots in the Indian team and augurs well in the run up to the World Cup in 2019, said skipper Virat Kohli.

The captain lavished praise on Kuldeep and Chahal, who have taken ten wickets between themselves in the first two matches of the series.

"They are outstanding, they are two young guys bowling with a lot of heart, getting us those breakthroughs against a top quality side... I think it speaks volume about their character," said Kohli.

Also read: IND vs AUS 2nd ODI: India thumps Australia by 50 runs; takes 2-0 lead

Chinaman Kuldip got a hat-trick and finished with figures of 3/54. Leg spinner Chahal returned figures of 2/34.

"We know they will do us good service, in the future games as well. That keeps the competition going among the 20-25 players that we have.

"Looking at the World Cup in a couple of years time, that really augurs well for us, how the team is shaping up. It's a good balance of bowling and batting," said Kohli.

England and Wales are slated to host the World Cup from May 30 to July 15, 2019.

Kohli was ecstatic about the options in the all-rounder slots.

"We have not only Hardik (Pandya) as an all rounder, now we have a couple of spinning allrounders as well in (Ravindra) Jadeja and Axar (Patel).So we have lot of options, plus we have all our bases covered at the moment," he said.

Samarth Srivastava

Samarth Srivastava

Employed as sub-editor at newstrack.com. A learner, who loves covering sports, entertainment and defence kind of stuff.

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