NEW DELHI: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling throughout the outlet Twenty20 international in opposition to South Africa this week, which India received by way of 28 runs, has are available in for top praise from former India captain Kris Srikkanth who believes the seam bowler’s superb use of the knuckle ball was key to flummoxing South Africa’s batsmen.
ALSO READ: South Africa’s efficiency has been embarrassing: Srikkanth
In his column for TOI, Srikkanth applauded Bhuvneshwar’s career-best figures of 5/24 throughout Tuesday’s opening T20I and highlighted the swing bowler’s superb use of the knuckle ball.
"The key architect of India’s superb victory in the first T20 is undoubtedly Bhuvneshwar Kumar. What I like about him is his ability to deliver in two critical phases of a T20 match - the Powerplay and the death overs. Those are the times when batsmen really set themselves up to have a go at the bowlers. A glance at the scoreboard in the last T20 would indicate that the South African batsmen had taken on every Indian bowler except Bhuvneshwar, who is one of the deadliest T20 bowlers going around in world cricket at the moment. It was his effort with the ball which hampered the opposition during the chase," wrote the 58-year-old.
ALSO READ: Kohli enters cricket box to attain century: Srikkanth
"What makes Bhuvi lethal? He has got a fantastic action and he can swing the ball both ways without any change in action with the new ball. And the addition of a knuckle ball makes him even more dangerous. He has quite a few different versions of the knuckle ball and can bowl it with seam-up and cross-seam. All those variations are a result of sheer hard work and practice in perfecting them. Such variations keep the batsman guessing always and he rarely gets whacked around the park."
Srikkanth, who has first-hand experience of operating with Bhuvneshwar at close range throughout the IPL - he was related to Sunrisers Hyderabad - felt that being a confirmed wicket-taker was any other asset.
"With Bhuvi, it's not just about curbing runs. He is a wicket-taker at different junctures of a contest as was evident in the opening game where he claimed two wickets in his first spell and then halted the progress of the South African middle order bagging three wickets in an over in the end. Picking wickets in T20s is vital as it puts the lid on the scoring rate as well," he wrote.
In Srikkanth’s view, this was the poorest South African group he has seen. "Surprisingly, I have never seen such a jaded and disoriented South African side. I think something is wrong in their selection policies. They have been found wanting in all departments. The major problem for the hosts is that two of their senior cricketers - skipper JP Duminy and David Miller - haven’t been able to contribute much to the team’s cause with the bat. In fact, it’s adding to their misery," he wrote.
“Unless the senior duo come up with a unique effort, it'll be difficult for South Africa to problem Virat Kohli & Co. I additionally feel that their bowling attack seems method too green for this tough Indian batting unit.”
The 2d T20I is as of late at Centurion.
ALSO READ: South Africa’s efficiency has been embarrassing: Srikkanth
In his column for TOI, Srikkanth applauded Bhuvneshwar’s career-best figures of 5/24 throughout Tuesday’s opening T20I and highlighted the swing bowler’s superb use of the knuckle ball.
"The key architect of India’s superb victory in the first T20 is undoubtedly Bhuvneshwar Kumar. What I like about him is his ability to deliver in two critical phases of a T20 match - the Powerplay and the death overs. Those are the times when batsmen really set themselves up to have a go at the bowlers. A glance at the scoreboard in the last T20 would indicate that the South African batsmen had taken on every Indian bowler except Bhuvneshwar, who is one of the deadliest T20 bowlers going around in world cricket at the moment. It was his effort with the ball which hampered the opposition during the chase," wrote the 58-year-old.
ALSO READ: Kohli enters cricket box to attain century: Srikkanth
"What makes Bhuvi lethal? He has got a fantastic action and he can swing the ball both ways without any change in action with the new ball. And the addition of a knuckle ball makes him even more dangerous. He has quite a few different versions of the knuckle ball and can bowl it with seam-up and cross-seam. All those variations are a result of sheer hard work and practice in perfecting them. Such variations keep the batsman guessing always and he rarely gets whacked around the park."
Srikkanth, who has first-hand experience of operating with Bhuvneshwar at close range throughout the IPL - he was related to Sunrisers Hyderabad - felt that being a confirmed wicket-taker was any other asset.
"With Bhuvi, it's not just about curbing runs. He is a wicket-taker at different junctures of a contest as was evident in the opening game where he claimed two wickets in his first spell and then halted the progress of the South African middle order bagging three wickets in an over in the end. Picking wickets in T20s is vital as it puts the lid on the scoring rate as well," he wrote.
In Srikkanth’s view, this was the poorest South African group he has seen. "Surprisingly, I have never seen such a jaded and disoriented South African side. I think something is wrong in their selection policies. They have been found wanting in all departments. The major problem for the hosts is that two of their senior cricketers - skipper JP Duminy and David Miller - haven’t been able to contribute much to the team’s cause with the bat. In fact, it’s adding to their misery," he wrote.
“Unless the senior duo come up with a unique effort, it'll be difficult for South Africa to problem Virat Kohli & Co. I additionally feel that their bowling attack seems method too green for this tough Indian batting unit.”
The 2d T20I is as of late at Centurion.
Addition of knuckle ball makes Bhuvneshwar even more lethal: Srikkanth
![Addition of knuckle ball makes Bhuvneshwar even more lethal: Srikkanth]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 21, 2018
Rating:
