Throughout the Australian tour and spilling into the 2015 World Cup, India’s ace swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar had to struggle with an ankle injury. He kept coming back to the field with match-fitness, but recurring injury left him high and dry.
Then, he encountered a phase when there was no place for him in the playing XI, as the likes of Mohd Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma had formed a potent attack. He did get a game in the World Cup against the UAE after Sami was given rest to recover from a knee injury.
Fortunately, Bhuvneshwar didn’t lose sleep when Shami replaced him in the very next match. He kept working hard on his fitness. The Uttar Pradesh pacer wasn’t in his usual self during the Bangladesh ODI series and was also dropped from the playing XI.
But in the first match of the ODI series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Friday, he was in his elements. He completed his quote of 10 overs in the match and was the most economical bowler for India. He only conceded 35 runs, delivered a maiden over and took the early wicket of Chamu Chibhabha.
Not only that, he bowled the last over the match at a very crucial stage of the Zimbabwe’s run chase. The match could have gone either ways. The hosts needed 10 runs from six deliveries when ODI skipper for the series Ajinkya Rahane handed the ball over to him.
Being the most experienced bowler in the line-up after Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar only gave five runs. Some of us thought that it was almost a lost cause for India, as Elton Chigumbura was batting on 100 and scoring those 10 runs off six deliveries was no big deal for the hard-hitting Zimbabwe batsman.
In a way, Bhuvneshwar’s spell helped India to cross over the winning line. Clearly, this performance will give a lot of self-assurance, something he may have lost while battling the injury bug. It must be a huge relief for the team as well to see its strike bowler coming back to form. Hope, Bhuvneshwar continues to bowl like this!
