Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is on the receiving end after a mediocre performance with the ball in the first T20I against Australia on Tuesday, September 20. Rohit Sharma and Co. failed to defend 208 runs and went 0-1 down in the three-match series.
The Men in Blue were invited to bat first by the opposition. Rohit and Virat Kohli‘s stay at the crease was short-lived. KL Rahul (55) and Suryakmar Yadav (46) anchored the Indian innings and bailed the side out of danger. However, Hardik Pandya’s splendid knock of 71″ off 30 deliveries helped India breach the 200-run mark.
Australia fought back hard in the chase. Cameron Green (61) and Steve Smith(35) built a partnership of 70 runs and gave the side a rollicking start. Spinners clipped a few wickets in the middle overs, but that proved to be not enough.
Matthew Wade mercilessly attacked the Indian pacers. Harshal Patel was given the task of bowling the 18th over. He leaked 22 runs, which triggered the momentum shift. Bhuvneshwar Kumar succumbed under pressure in the 19th over and gave away 16 valuable runs. Eventually, Australia defeated India by four wickets.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ordinary since his return to the side. He had a forgettable campaign in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022. He consecutively failed to deliver in the death overs. Fans were unimpressed with his performance and came down hard on the pacer.
Here are some twitter reactions:
When Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes to bowl 19th over,
Indian fans: pic.twitter.com/GUkCkk4MKY— PratikshA (@BjpPratiksha) September 21, 2022
The definition of Toxic Relationship:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar & 19th Over
— your time's up. (@TakeTheJab) September 21, 2022
How I sleep knowing that Harshal patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will play for India in T20WC #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/a6iR43HrhO
— Registanroyals (@registanroyals) September 20, 2022
https://twitter.com/superking1815/status/1572269088575229953?s=20&t=vN_yazxPLbTVAi9xU_bJpA
Bhuvneshwar bowling in the death? LOL
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) September 20, 2022
Bhuvneshwar Kumar in penultimate overs –
Against Pakistan – 19 runs
Against Sri Lanka – 15 runs
Against Australia – 16 runsIs this what u are learning from mistakes @ImRo45 ?
— Mohit (@MohitRohitian) September 20, 2022
When Bhuvneshwar Again Got 19th Over then Every Cricket Fan Right Now…..#Bhuvi pic.twitter.com/YCv1Qd2hlK
— Mohammed Salman (@Ziddi_Deshbhakt) September 20, 2022
Opposition feels confident when Bhuvneshwar Kumar balls the 19th over.
— Krishna (@Atheist_Krishna) September 20, 2022
Whenever Rohit Sharma gives 19th over to Bhuvneshwar Kumar đ #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/F0YmaAZnZN
— Rajat Sengar (@SengaRajat) September 20, 2022
Bhuvneshwar kumar and rohit Sharma discussion after 19th over. #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/1InKUbzOXr
— Jo Kar (@i_am_gustakh) September 20, 2022
#bhuvneshwarkumar every match in 19th over #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/42YkiyOwUF
— Proud Indian (@ProudIND1508) September 20, 2022
“I don’t think we bowled well” – Rohit Sharma shifts the blame on the bowlers
Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper, stated that poor bowling and sloppy fielding cost them the game. He came down hard on the Indian bowlers, saying that they need to work on their bowling ahead of the next game. Speaking at the end of the game, Rohit stated:
“I don’t think we bowled well. 200 is a good score to defend, and we didn’t take our chances on the field. It was a great effort from our batters, but the bowlers were not quite there. There are things we need to look at, but it was a great game for us to understand what went wrong.”
He further added:
“We took wickets to an extent, but they played well. You can back yourself to defend 60 runs in the final 4 overs. We were not able to take that extra wicket. That was the turning point, if we would have taken another wicket, things would have been different. You can’t score 200 every day, you need to bat well. Hardik batted well to get us there. We need to look at our bowling before the next game.”
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