After scalping as many as 8 wickets in the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens here, India paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar said his hard work on fitness is paying him rich dividends now. He also accepted that the experience of international cricket has taught him the areas where he needed to improve.

The Uttar Pradesh pacer almost brought India to a miraculous win with dream figures of 11-8-8-4 in Sri Lanka’s second innings. The visitors were 75/7 when bad light brought curtains down on the match.

Talking about the match, Bhuvneshwar said, “When I made my debut, I was totally dependent on the swing. International cricket tells you what you need to improve on. I worked hard on my fitness and that is paying off.”

He further added, “We believed we could win. Virat (Kohli) said ‘Imagine we’re in this situation overseas. If we get two-three wickets early, it won’t be easy for them.'”

Drawing comparison between his performances in the two innings, Kumar acknowledged that the pitch was difficult to bowl in Sri Lanka’s second innings. He said, “Frankly speaking, it was tougher to bowl in the second innings as the surface was a lot drier. But the ball was reversing, so that helped.”