Can go through the innings without hitting sixes, says Bhuvneshwar Kumar

What's the story?

Indian opener Rohit Sharma was seen interviewing Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a new video put up on the BCCI.TV. The duo talked about Kumar's special knock that revived India from its troubles during the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka.

Curious about the approach that helped Bhuvneshwar deliver a steady performance, Sharma asked, “Bhuvi, obviously it was not an easy situation when you went to bat in but we all have seen you bat and score run whenever the team has required. So what was going on there? Did you have a special chat with MS (Dhoni)?”

Bhuvneshwar, who constantly credited MS Dhoni for boosting his confidence, narrated the incident, “No. Not really. When I went in he (Dhoni) just told me, just play what your game is. That was the ideal situation for me as I am not the kind of batsman who can hit sixes but you know I can go through the innings and score a few runs. I know that if I can play 15-20 overs, it was a good chance for us to win the match.”

In case you didn't know...

The second ODI between India and Sri Lanka was full of twists and surprises. While chasing a revised target of 231 runs in 47 overs in the rain-affected match, Kumar walked in to bat at 131/7.

He went on to score a half century that was weaved with Dhoni's patient knock in order to lead team India towards the win. India are leading the ongoing five-match series 2-0 now.

The details

Dhoni and Bhuvi played an incredible knock to rescue the Indian team when all the other batsmen came tumbling down after facing the wrath of the Dananjaya who's six wicket haul made everyone believe that the match has slipped from the grip of the Indian team.

As Sharma stated that the dressing was confident about Bhuvi's ability to score runs and save the team, Bhuvi said that it was easier to bat on the pitch than it was to bowl. Explaining his tactic to handle Dananjaya, Bhuvi said that he focused on playing the googly that the former delivered.

Although Bhuvi agreed that he was a little terrified about facing slower balls coming from Malinga, he said that he wanted to make most of the situation. He was unable to pick up those deliveries during the Indian Premier League. However, he was in no mood to repeat the act.

What's next?

Kumar has been unable to pick any wickets in the ongoing series. He will aim at getting more wickets today as India get ready to take on Sri Lanka at Pallekele.

Author's take

Bhuvi did an excellent job in holding onto the belief that he can lead team India to a victory. The manner in which Dhoni and Bhuvi scripted India's three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka despite losing the top-order batsmen early during the second innings is enough to determine the talent they possess.

More than anything else, Bhuvi was able to win everyone's trust and made them believe that he can perform with the bat when his team requires him to. He will now look forward to creating similar magic with the ball.