India vs Australia: Bhuvneshwar Kumar's death bowling is a concern, says Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s inability to contain runs in death overs is an “area of concern” for Men in Blue. Bhuvneshwar once again proved expensive in the death overs as India lost the first T20I to Australia by four wickets.

“We didn’t actually bowl as well. It’s a real concern. Somebody like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar is going for runs every single time, when he is expected.. in 18 deliveries he has bowled in three matches against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and now Australia, he has given away 49 runs. It is almost three runs per ball. Somebody with his experience and calibre, you expect he will give 35-36 runs in those 18 deliveries. That really is an area of concern,” Gavaskar said on India Today.

Bowling the crucial 19th over, Bhuvneshwar conceded 16 runs with Matthew Wade hitting him for three consecutive fours. This brought down the equation to just two runs from the last over. In the 17th over, Bhuvneshwar gave away 15 runs and finished the match with figures of 0/552 from four overs.

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Even in Asia Cup, Bhuvneshwar had bowled expensive overs in death. He gave away 19 runs in the 19th over of the Super Four match against Pakistan as they won by five wickets. Against Sri Lanka, he gave away 14 runs in the 19th over and that allowed the island nation to cross the finishing line and dump India out of the Asia Cup.

Death overs specialist Harshal Patel also had a bad day as he gave away 22 runs in the 18th over and registered match figures of 0/49. Gavaskar, however, defended Harshal as the bowler is making a return from injury.

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“Harshal is generally a very meaty bowler. But let’s not forget he is coming back after a long break. That’s why it’s so important for the bowlers to have plenty of overs under their belt before they get to the World Cup. That’s the reason, India can maybe play Bumrah and Harshal even in a couple of the ODIs just to get miles in their legs. And to get their rhythm going. That’s something that the Indian management will have to look at,” he added.

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