I am not the kind of batsman who can hit sixes, but I can score few runs: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Known for his versatile swing bowling and nagging line, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar played a different role during the 2nd ODI between Sri Lanka and India. Kumar played a match winning knock of unbeaten 53, as India clinched a win from the jaws of defeat. The visitors were struggling at 131/7, as Akila Dhananjaya rolled out his best performance, shooting down the Indian batting order in a span of 20 minutes.

Kumar faced 80 balls for his 53 and was well-supported by MS Dhoni, who remained not out on 45 from 68 deliveries. India are currently 2-0 up in the series and despite the effort from Dhanjaya, who finished with figures of 6/54; the Lankans couldn’t push for a victory. The visitors will look to seal the series and earn the license to experiment, keeping the 2019 World Cup in mind. Dhananjaya was awarded the man of the match but the man of the moment, post the match, was Kumar.

In a video interview with his teammate and Indian opener Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar candidly spoke on how he managed to pull off the victory, picking Dananjaya when the rest failed and how his bowling is coming through in the recent times.

Play what your game is

“Bhuvi, obviously it was not an easy situation when you went to bat in but we all have seen you bat and score runs whenever the team has required. So what was going on there? Did you have a special chat with MS (Dhoni)?” Rohit asked Bhuvneshwar in a video interview on bcci.tv. In reply, Bhuvneshwar said: “No. Not really. When I went in he (Dhoni) just told me, just play what your game is. That was the ideal situation for me as I am not the kind of batsman who can hit sixes but you know I can go through the innings and score a few runs. I know that if I can play 15-20 overs, it was a good chance for us to win the match.”

Interestingly, Kumar was more concerned about facing Lasith Malinga than Dhananjaya. He added that he failed to pick Malinga’s slower balls during the IPL, therefore the concern was more. 27-year-old Kumar has played 69 ODIs and picked up 70 wickets at an average of 38. 97. He spoke about his bowling too.

Bhuvneshwar said, “I am trying to exploit the conditions. I couldn’t get the wickets in the last two matches but I am pretty happy with the way I am bowling. The plans, whatever I am executing it, is perfectly happening. So, I am really happy with my bowling.”