Kolkata: Bhuvneshwar Kumar always knew how to swing the white ball but now he feels more complete as a bowler with an ability to generate pace in the death overs. Bhuvneshwar bowled an impressive first spell comprising pace and swing as he finished with brilliant figures of 6.1-2-9-3 including the wicket of dangerous David Warner.
India won the second ODI by 50 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. “When I first came into the side, I needed conditions favouring swing bowling to flourish. A year after making my debut, I wanted to increase my pace, but I had no clue how to go about that,” Bhuvneshwar made a humble admission at the post-match news conference.
The Meerut-born pacer attributed it to the inputs from strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu for being able to increase of pace which has immensely helped him bowling during slog overs.
“Shankar 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 said after bowling the very first delivery, he knew that conditions are ideal for swing bowling, something which has been synonymous with the Eden Gardens.
Asked about the spell, he said: “Yes, I had plan-ned to bowl like that. As soon as I bowled the first ball, I knew there was some swing on offer. To Warner, I knew outswingers can work against him. Pitching it on the offstump and getting it to shape away.”
Having played alongside Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad had obviously come in handy. “Yes, I know a bit as to where he lacks and where I should bowl at. But execution is more important than anything. IPL is such a tournament that you end up knowing about the strengths and weaknesses of everyone,” he said.
