World Cup 2019: Bhuvneshwar Kumar proves to be the biggest positive for India from the Australia match

Bhuvi picked up the key wickets of Smith and Stoinis in the same over to end Australia's hopes
Bhuvi picked up the key wickets of Smith and Stoinis in the same over to end Australia's hopes

India outclassed Australia in batting and bowling and displayed an equally comparable display of top-notch fielding in their second successive win in the ongoing ICC World Cup.

Of course, after such a big win, there are several positives that can be taken for the winning team. In this case, Shikhar Dhawan coming back to the kind of form he so regularly shows in the ICC events is great news for India.

So is the performance of Kohli, who may not have played a fluent innings, but chipped in with a crucial knock which will do his confidence a world of good going further into the tournament. Chahal and Kuldeep too bowled very well in tandem.

But the biggest positive for India was possibly the bowling performance of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

On air, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly too seemed to suggest that he was a bit surprised by the selection of Bhuvneshwar over Mohammed Shami. In an earlier article, I too had felt that Shami would be a better choice against Australia.

But Bhuvneshwar proved his detractors wrong through a terrific bowling performance. His opening spell, in tandem with Bumrah, ensured that the explosive Australian opening pair of Warner and Finch could not get off to a fast start.

Later on in the innings when he was brought in to attack with a well set Smith beginning to let loose, Bhuvi snarled the dangerous looking batsman and Stoinis in one over, effectively ending any hope of a miraculous Australian victory.

His bowling figures of three wickets for 50 runs were by far the best by an Indian bowler, in the match.

The Indian captain must also be given a lot of credit for persisting with Bhuvneshwar, even when many cricket pundits wanted Shami in the side.

This decision eventually proved to be a master stroke. However, one would like to end with a caveat that the captain and team management should be flexible in their team selection, going forward.

Also read - Most world cup wins

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Edited by Alan John