The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket

India takes control after Bhuvneshwar heroics

Sat, Aug 13, '16

 

Windies v India

A Test match that should have rightfully been heading for the tamest of draws after an entire day’s play was lost to rain came roaring back to life, thanks literally to one spell of distinguished swing bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Out of nowhere, Bhuvneshwar found the rhythm to swing the Duke ball, and as soon as he did so, the challenge before the batsmen was a completely different one. After beginning Friday's (August 12) fourth day of the third Test on 107 for 1 in response to India’s 353, West Indies went from a confident 202 for 3 to 225 all out, proving that even one bad session can cost you dear in a Test match. By stumps, an aggressive Indian team had a lead of 285 with seven second-innings wickets to spare and at least 98 overs to play with on the final day, after reaching 157 for 3 batting a second time around.
When he took the second new ball, Bhuvneshwar had the tidy if not particularly spectacular figures of 12-4-17-0. That was when the ball wasn’t shaping away or in appreciably. Once he engaged that perfectly locked wrist and released the ball with an excellent seam position, it did not take him long to snare his first victim. Jermaine Blackwood began brightly, tonking Bhuvneshwar back over his head, on the rise and through the line, for a one-bounce boundary but inexplicably gave up his natural attacking instinct for something more sedate.