India gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series against England after the Rohit Sharma-led side defeated the hosts by 49 runs in the second T20I at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the star of the show as he returned with three wickets and two of those came in the powerplay. Defending 170, India got off to the best start possible as Bhuvneshwar returned with wickets of Jason Roy and Jos Buttler in the powerplay.
After the game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar spoke to reporters during a post-match press conference and he talked about how the ball is swinging for him in the UK, his mindset, and whether he looks forward to playing Test cricket for India.
“Honestly, I do not know. I have been to England many times and it did not swing in the past few series so yes, even I was a bit surprised that the ball was swinging and it is swinging for a long period of time, especially in T20 cricket and there is a bit more bounce in the wicket as well. When the ball swings, you enjoy it more. Honestly, I do not know whether I am swinging it, it is the condition or it is the ball. If the ball is swinging, that is my strength so I look for attacking options then. In both these matches, the ball swung and I attacked and hence I got the wickets,” said Bhuvneshwar.
“When you go to any series, you always imagine that you will win. We are not surprised that we are 2-0 up, we did all the hard work, and even they could have been 2-0 up, but we are at this stage and all credit goes to the team. It is a team thing, players and combinations can change, as an individual, I am happy with the way I am bowling, Hardik is coming back again, and we are happy that we are contributing to the team’s wins. If we win the series 3-0 in the UK, it would be a very good feeling,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar’s career has been hampered by injuries and when he was asked whether he thought that his career might end because of those injuries, Bhuvneshwar said that he never looked at things that way.
“I never thought that it was it for me. When you are out of the game, you are never confident and you can feel disappointed or frustrated. You want to come back and you want to play for the country again. Honestly, I am not thinking about anything at this moment, whatever opportunities I am getting, I am trying to do well in that so if I’ll get any opportunities in the red-ball format, I would not say no. I’ll try to do well there but I am not thinking whether I’ll get the opportunity or not,” said Bhuvneshwar.
Talking about India’s score in the second T20, Bhuvneshwar said: “In T20, maybe it was a less score, but the totals like 170-175 are always tricky, the opponent does not know at what pace to go about their things. If they get a good start, it is good for them and if we as a bowling unit get a good start, we can create pressure on them. When we go about to bowl, it is always about taking wickets in powerplay so that the pressure can be created.”
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India and England will take on each other in the 3rd T20I on Sunday evening at Trent Bridge.
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