Swing is my weapon: Bhuvneshwar
His eight overs on the trot set the stage for India to rip through Pakistan in their final Champions Trophy group match here, but rising pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar feels it was still a long way to go before he can think of himself as the team’s bowling spearhead.
Bhuvneshwar picked up his maiden man of the match trophy after taking up the crucial wickets of Nasir Jamshed and Mohammed Hafeez in eight back-to-back overs.
“In English conditions, the new ball is expected to swing and I feel the captain wants to get the best out of me. I have been doing this quite regularly in India too,” Kumar said.
Asked whether he was ready to spearhead India’s pace attack, the youngster replied, “I am still learning and speaking to the seniors. It’s too early to look into the future and say I am going to spearhead India’s bowling attack. I will like to take one match at a time.”
Bhuvneshwar said there were no special plans against Pakistan. “As a new ball bowler, it’s my job to stick to the basics. But it’s true that the ball is not swinging as much as I thought it would in English conditions. The bounce has been good, though,” the 23-year-old from Meerut said.
Bhuvneshwar (2/19) produced his best bowling performance against Pakistan in ODIs, bettering his 2/27 at Chennai on December 30, 2012. This was also his best in Champions Trophy. The pacer said he was never in awe of the Pakistan batsmen.
“Swing is my main weapon. All bowlers depend on movement and I am no exception. Whether it’s Pakistan or any other team, the approach is the same. We went in today quite confident of our abilities. We won two matches as a team and we had a lot of belief in our batting, bowling and fielding,” he said.
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Cook lone star as england all out for 169
Cardiff, June 16: England, after losing the toss, were bowled out for 169 by New Zealand in a Champions Trophy Group A match at Cardiff on Sunday reduced by rain to 24 overs per side.
England captain Alastair Cook top-scored with 67, with Kyle Mills taking 4/30 and left-arm quick Mitchell McClenaghan 3/36.
Earlier persistent showers forced a delay start. Play, which was scheduled to start at 10.30am local time, got underway at only 3.45 pm.
If Sunday’s match is a washout, New Zealand will go through to the last four from the group.
— AFP
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