Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Friday (18th February) said that he kept believing and backed himself with the yorkers in the second T20I against West Indies in Kolkata.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was one of the main architects behind Team India’s 8-run win over West Indies in the second game of the three-match T20I series.
After the Rohit Sharma-led side posted a total of 186 on the board, Rovman Powell (68*) and Nicholas Pooran (62) kept West Indies in the hunt. The duo stitched 100 runs partnership and it almost seemed that the visitors would seal the match with ease.
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But Bhuvneshwar Kumar stepped up for his side and bowled a sensational penultimate over. With 29 runs needed off the last two overs, the right-arm pacer conceded only 4 runs and removed the well-set Nicholas Pooran as well. Harshal Patel then defended 25 runs in the last over as India took an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series.
Speaking after the match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar said that he kept believing in himself. He revealed that skipper Rohit Sharma told him that if he could give away only 9-10 runs in the penultimate over, it would be tough for the West Indies to chase. He remarked that despite dew being there he backed himself.
“I was just believing in myself, Rohit told me that if I can give just 9-10 runs it will be difficult for them, so I just backed myself with the yorkers. There was a bit of dew, but I still backed myself and it came out well," Bhuvneshwar Kumar said.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar further said that Rovman Powell was hitting the ball hard and it was difficult for him to bowl yorkers with the dew. He talked about his bowling plans and admitted that West Indies batters are very powerful and if they get the ball in their zone they clear the fence with ease.
“He (Powell) was hitting it pretty hard, probably 200kmph! It’s always tough to bowl yorkers with the dew. When we bowled the slower balls it wasn’t gripping and I changed my plan not to bowl slower balls, so it totally depends on the wicket.
“These (West Indies batters) are very powerful and if you bowl in their zone and it gets difficult. Feels good and I don’t want to say anything about that,” he said.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the most economical Indian bowler in the second T20I and returned with the figures of 2/29. The dead-rubber third match between the teams will take place on Sunday (20th February) at the same venue.
(IANS inputs)
