London: India’s top bowler in the ongoing Test series against England with 11 wickets to his credit, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, says his good form with the bat has been a factor in helping him bowl well.
Bhuvneshwar, who struck two half-centuries in the drawn opening Test in Nottingham, picked up six wickets in the ongoing second Test here to be the pick of the Indian bowlers.
He also added another fifty on the fourth day on Sunday.
“If you think like a batsman, you have an upper-hand over the man you’re bowling to. All the runs that I have scored here have played a huge role in the way I have bowled. Having batted there for long hours, I know where the batsman will find it difficult to play the ball,” Bhuvneshwar said.
“I can anticipate what is going on in his mind and plan the next ball accordingly. The runs also give you confidence, which gets transformed into courage of conviction when you come on to bowl,” he said.
The young pacer said it felt good to make his mark with the ball.
“Luckily it has turned out like that. I am happy I was able to keep that little tradition going. It will be good to see my name up on the honours board with my two state mates, RP Singh and Praveen Kumar,” he said referring to the two other Indians who picked up five-wicket hauls on their Lord’s debut.
Bhuvneshwar said his bowling style is similar to Praveen, who handed him useful tips ahead of the tour.
“He just told me, ‘you know what you have to do’. He was very helpful in terms of giving me information about the different grounds and their peculiarities. For instance, of Lord’s he told me about the slope,” he said.
“He said you’ll feel a bit awkward at times bowling there but be mentally prepared. Honestly, when you look at the ground, you can see the slope but once you start bowling, you don’t feel much difference,” he added. (PTI)
