India was knocked out of the Asia Cup after a moralizing win over Afghanistan in their last game of the continental tournament. While the former Indian skipper Virat Kohli made the most of the dead-rubber by scoring his much-awaited 71st century in international cricket, the veteran fast bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke the back of the Afghani chase with his second five-wicket haul in the shortest format of the game.
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer stated that there should be no doubt about Bhuvneshwar’s new ball bowling ability after this performance. Centurion Virat Kohli stitched a belligerent 119-run opening partnership with KL Rahul for the first wicket, setting the template for the rest of the innings.
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While speaking on BatBricks7 Presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker, former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer suggested that there should be no question about the abilities of Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the new ball.
Wasim Jaffer explained, “Unfortunately, he has leaked runs in the death overs in the tournament. It is outstanding to take two five-wicket hauls in T20I cricket. But I don’t think there was any doubt about his new ball bowling, or there will be any doubt about his new-ball bowling in the future. It’s just that he did not have two good games where he was taken for plenty in the two death overs.”
The cricketer-turned-expert also highlighted the challenges of bowling in the death overs when asked about Bhuvneshwar’s poor showing at the latter stages of the matches in the Asia Cup. He stated that it is the biggest challenge for bowlers to excel with the new ball and old ball alike, but the great bowlers do that, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of them.
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Elaborating the same, Wasim Jaffer said, “The time was different. It was the 19th over. Bowling at the death requires different skills than bowling in the powerplay. It is the actual challenge for a bowler to excel at both stages. All the great bowlers do that, including Bhuvneshwar Kumar.”
