Both India and England have scored 350 or more runs each in their two respective innings in the ongoing one-day international series. Presented with flat tracks and shorter boundaries, batsmen from both camps have made merry, reducing bowlers to mere props.
India's Bhuvneswar Kumar, who played in the second ODI at Cuttack and bowled well for his 63/1 in 10 overs, said bowlers have now got accustomed to teams breaching the 350-mark quite regularly.
“Nowadays we know that 350 has become a par score. That's how we plan our practice,” said the pacer at the pre-match press conference here on Saturday. “In team meetings we discuss such things. Yes it is difficult considering we are coming from the era where 250-300 was a normal score but now 350 is also not safe. Dew is also there and it’s not easy to bowl, especially in the death overs as it’s not easy to bowl yorkers with the wet ball. So these are things we are getting used to.”
With dew having a significant effect in the two matches so far, bowlers struggled to grip the ball. While it was a daunting task for the spinners, the fast bowlers found it tough to land the yorkers. Bhuvneshwar said the team practiced for such challenges even before the series began. “Yes, it was difficult (to grip the ball). But before that match, especially at the start of the series, we practiced bowling with the wet ball. That was one of the plans to execute in pressure situations. We were practising to bowl yorkers with the wet ball.”
Bhuvneshwar was once perceived to be more effective only if the conditions suited swing bowling. But the last IPL saw him provide a different dimension of himself -- his 23 wickets playing a significant role in Sunrisers Hyderabad emerging champions. The Uttar Pradesh cricketer credited IPL for improving his death bowling skills.
“Firstly thanks to IPL for the way I'm bowling in the death. When Sunrisers picked me I had already played for the country and they were heavily dependent on me to bowl in the death. So I was kind of experienced to bowling in that situation and I brought that mindset into international cricket as well.”
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