India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test: In rain, Bhuvneshwar Kumar leaves Kiwis high and dry

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Kumar bowled three overs in that spell before the second day’s play at Eden Gardens was called off due to bad light. He took 3/13 in that spell to sap the life out of New Zealand batting. The visitors finished the day at 128/7. Kumar’s figures read: 10-0-33-5.

Earlier, he had trapped Henry Nicholls leg before in his first over before breaching Martin Guptill’s defence, inducing him to shoulder arm a length delivery. Kumar’s inclusion proved to be a masterstroke. Winning combinations are usually retained with, but this Eden pitch demanded swing more than raw pace. So Umesh Yadav had to make way for the Uttar Pradesh seamer who reaped rich rewards, maintaining an impeccable line and length. Kumar wanted to take a five-for in India. But pitches here rarely offer assistance to fast bowlers. Eden provided him with an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.

It was his fourth five-wicket haul in the longest format. The previous one came at Gros Islet during the recently concluded Test series against West Indies. Kumar at times had bowled to an 8-1 field in that game. Here, he stuck to a more conventional 7-2 set-up. But hardly did he pitch anything around leg. His bowling was a classic example of doing the basics right.

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Kumar’s ride at the highest level has been topsy-turvy. He has played 14 Tests after making his debut in February 2013. The 2014 series in England was the high point, where he took 19 wickets at 26.63 in five matches. The following series Down Under saw his decline. A left ankle injury was a deterrent. In Sydney, the only Test he played in that series, Kumar had been clobbered all over the park, returning with an average of 168.00. Kumar had to wait for 18 months to get back to the Indian team fold.

For some reason Kumar tried to be sharper off the deck during the Australia tour, losing his natural swing in the process. Once he realised his mistake, redemption began.

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Kumar needed wickets under his belt to regain his confidence. The IPL 2016 success was instrumental. The 26-year-old had started off slowly, but ended up with 23 wickets in 17 matches as Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch their maiden title. Credit has to be given to the Sandeep Patil-led erstwhile selection committee for keeping him in the loop. The Test match at Gros Islet saw the transformation; that Kumar was trying to make the batters play almost every ball. Today it was the same. Here, among all the bowlers from either side, he turned out to be the most effective because he left opponents with little room for error.

In the context of the game, Kumar’s performance was even more crucial, for R Ashwin had a rare off day. The off-spinner bowled five overs and conceded 23 runs without taking a wicket. He didn’t get the turn. India had been defending a mid-level first innings total and someone had to ensure that the opposition didn’t build steady partnerships. Kumar led from the front.

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Luke Ronchi said the Indian seamer had been assisted by the pitch. At the same time, he praised Kumar’s ability to make the batsmen play at everything. “I think it’s a combination of everything. This wicket, especially the new ball, is a big thing. It does a few more things. The bounce is a little unpredictable with a harder ball and obviously it swings around and things like that. And later on he (Kumar) came back to bowl in nice lines to hit the stumps, to get lbw and nicking of Ross in just the area where you make the batsman play pretty much. I think that’s the main thing. Make the batsman play and make decisions that he wanted and that we didn’t want. So he bowled really well,” the New Zealand middle-order batsman said.

Standing behind the stumps, Wriddhiman Saha assessed Kumar’s performance from a different perspective. “The bench strength in our team is very good. We can select a team according to the conditions and situation. In the last match Umesh played, and in this one we felt the wicket might seam a bit. So Bhuvi played, and he did really well. He has got five wickets so no doubt he has bowled outstandingly,” he said.