We don’t want to lose a home series no matter what: Bhuvneshwar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar credited Bharat Arun, India’s bowling coach, for helping him add a few yards of pace to his bowling while maintaining his prodigious swing.

Bhuvneshwar, who was on the sidelines not long ago for not being able to find the right balance between swing and pace, has cemented his spot in the limited-overs side with impressive performances with the ball over the last three series.

The extra pace and late movement helped him settle into a lead role with the new ball against Sri Lanka, Australia and now New Zealand. To add to his already burgeoning portfolio, Bhuvneshwar has also become a much better bowler in the death, adding to India’s reserves.

“As you play, you grow up as a player. I have improved a lot in the last couple of years as a bowler. I have added a bit of pace but haven’t lost my swing. That’s something which I am really happy about,” he said on Saturday (October 28) in Kanpur ahead of the final ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand.

“At this level, you don’t want to get into too much technique but he (Arun) is the one who studies a lot and he is very good at managing bowlers. He pinpoints things that really help improve your bowling. When I added pace (earlier), I lost my swing a bit. But he gave me suggestions, pointed some small things which I couldn't catch. In getting my swing back he has a big role in it.”

Bhuvneshwar was the chief architect in India’s six-wicket series-levelling win in the second ODI in Pune. His figures of 3 for 45 helped India restrict New Zealand to 230 for 9 before the home side went on to chase down the total on a placid strip.

India hasn’t been in this position for a while now, clawing its way back into a series, and that has a lot to do with how well New Zealand played in the first game.

“We have not been challenged much so far. But this is a short series and we were a bit under pressure going into the second match. We were one down and if we had lost the second, the series would have been lost,” accepted Bhuvneshwar.

“Yes it’s a (short) series but the mental approach has been the same as it is in other series. We wanted to win the series but as I said we have not been challenged at home but it’s been a pressure situation in the last match and in this one as well because we don’t want to lose a home series no matter what. So we have to do our best to win the series.”

India will do well to draw on the memory of the last New Zealand tour, when it needed to win in Visakhapatnam after New Zealand levelled the series 2-2. While Bhuvneshwar didn't bring that particular game up, his sentiments ahead of the third match were a clue as to what the Indians, who have won 18 out of their last 25 ODIs, might be feeling.

“This is again a pressure game, it’s a decider. It matters that how we prepare for the match, our preparation for each match has been good. We will try and repeat what we did in the last match. Whatever our strategy and planning was there it’s important that we do it again,” he said.

Bhuvneshwar has occasionally shared the new ball with Trent Boult for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, and said that playing with overseas players was a double-edged sword – helping both sides understand their opponents better.

“Definitely, we make use of that experience. If you see in the previous series, we have played against Australians also. When you form a strategy or do planning, you do keep it in mind that we have played with and against these players in IPL, so somewhere it becomes easy,” he said. “Not just for us, but for them also. Whatever you plan can be countered by them because they know us well too. It’s both advantageous and disadvantageous.”