Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan has applauded Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his variations around the off-stump that made him return miserly figures where all other bowlers were going into the stands.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned with figures of 4-0-15-2 on a pitch where 412 runs were scored in 40 overs. Vaughan credited him to be the difference between the series winners and England. His variations around the off-stump make him successful even though he doesn't bowl at a pace of 80 or 90 miles per hour.
Michael Vaughan told Cricbuzz, "The key was Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He’s a magnificent bowler and he’s the bowler England should be really studying. Bhuvneshwar you could argue was the difference between the two sides. To bowl his four overs – 2/15, and an economy rate of under four, on a pitch that the ball was traveling into the stands was nothing short of remarkable."
“And he doesn't bowl 90 miles or 80 miles, but gets close to the stumps and has all variations. I don’t think he bowls to the data. England has got to understand that if you bowl to the data, teams will know that data as well,” he added.
The 46-year-old went into great depths to explain why Bhuvneshwar is such a successful bowler. He pointed out that the seamer waits to decide what delivery to bowl and executes one after watching the feet of the batsmen.
He said, “I look at someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and I feel he just studies the batsmen, stares at the batsmen feet and at the last moment, bowls the ball that is the hardest for the batsmen. That's why he's a wonderful bowler. He's got the swing, the cutter the back of the hand delivery and he's also got the mind… very clever.”
“If there's anything in the series I will tell England to copy, that is Bhuvneshwar's bowling. You just look at his consistency across all the series. He’s obviously a bowler the batters are finding very, very difficult. He sets the tone in the first over.”
“He gets a bit of movement and swing either way. As a batsman, you can’t line him up. He crams them with that ball that comes back. Jason Roy will tell you all about that ball. He’s got the skills, the mind and the cricket brain when he’s bowling,” Vaughan concluded.
