Bhuvneshwar Kumar has immensely improved himself as a lower-order batsman in the Indian side. The medium pacer is known for his accuracy, length and swing bowling. However, during the first ODI against New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, Bhuvi got skipper Virat Kohli’s respect, not for his bowling but for his batting effort.
In the match, India was eyeing a competitive total. It was 49th over, Bhuvi was facing Kiwi pacer Adam Milne and Virat Kohli was at the other end as the scoreboard reading 258 for 6. Bhuvi hit the ball over long on for a maximum that surprised Virat Kohli at the other end. Virat Kohli was spellbound by his shot and bowed down to Bhuvi in admiration.
— Cricket Videos (@VKCrick) October 22, 2017
Bhuvneshwar scored a six off the last ball of the 49th over converting an economical over into a good one. Kohli later revealed that Bhuvneshwar had converted a 3-run over into a 9-run over with a six. He struck another six in the final over after Kohli got out for 121 runs from 125 balls. 16 runs came off the last over out of which 10 were scored by Bhuvneshwar. This took India to a total of 280 for 8. However, he got out off the last ball of the first innings.
Bhuvneshwar has evolved as a lower-order batsman in the recent times. He along with MS Dhoni rescued India against Sri Lanka when Akila Dananjaya preyed on Indian batting order. He scored a half-century to take India home and keep the winning streak alive. He played a few valuable knocks against Australia in the recently concluded series as well. The right-arm seamer could not take a wicket in his first spell as Martin Guptill and Colin Munro kept him at bay. They attacked him the very first over not allowing him to get into the rhythm he usually does with the new ball.
