India vs New Zealand: Skipper Virat Kohli says Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar have come of age

Pune: India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday praised the potent pace combination of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, saying both the bowlers have come of age.

"Bowlers were really clinical today and fielders as well. Both those guys (Kumar and Bumrah) are coming along nicely. They know they are going to start more often than not.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Martin Guptill. Reuters

"Today, with the wicket being slow, it was heartening to see them getting wickets in conventional ways," said Kohli after the six-wicket win over New Zealand in the second ODI.

Kumar took three wickets and Bumrah two, helping India restrict New Zealand to 230 for nine.

The chase was completed in 46 overs with Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik scoring timely half centuries.

"Dhawan has been playing really well. He's striking the ball really well. He's pretty confident at the moment. Dinesh as well, getting some crucial runs for himself as well as the team."

The series decider will be played in Kanpur on Sunday.

"I look forward to challenges. We spoke about bouncing back before this game, and we have bounced back here today. Would look to play similar sort of cricket in Kanpur as well," added Kohli.

Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson said his team didn't make enough runs.

"It was one of those surfaces that if you could get a score on the board, and then squeeze, then you can make life difficult, but 230 wasn't enough. We weren't good enough at the top," he said.

"Credit to India with the way they bowled. Their opening spell put us under a lot of pressure. However, lot of positives from our middle order to take us to that total. Need to play a lot better to beat these guys," Williamson said.

Published Date: Oct 25, 2017 11:33 pm | Updated Date: Oct 25, 2017 11:33 pm