Don’t write off champions: Nathan Lyon on Kohli’s recent batting slump
The Australian team must be hoping to take advantage of Virat Kohli’s prolonged batting slump when the two sides clash in the five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy
Indian spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar credited captain Virat Kohli for his success in the first Test that ended in a draw at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Monday.
“It was difficult to bowl in the second innings because the ball was coming onto the bat,” Bhuvneshwar said in the post-match ceremony, in which he was bestowed with The Man-of-the-Match award.
The 27-year-old, who claimed four wickets each in two innings of the Test, added: “There was reverse swing, so looked to make the most out of it.”
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The Meerut-born cricketer made his debut on December 25, 2012, in a T20I match against Pakistan. Bhuvneshwar got a Test call-up in February 2013.
“When I made my debut, I was dependant on swing. There were areas I wanted to improve and those things are paying off. When we went in, Virat said – just imagine if you were playing in the same situation, it’s never easy. So we went in with that mindset,” he recalled.
Bhuvneshwar has come up with tremendous improvement in the recent past and has done well across all formats. In Tests alone, he has claimed 53 wickets in 19 matches with two four-wicket hauls and four five-wicket hauls.
In Kolkata, India were close to a victory when the bad light forced stumps on Day 5. Sri Lanka were 75/7, chasing India by 156 runs with three wickets in hand.
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