Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered a masterclass on swing bowling in the first over against England on Thursday in the first T20I in Southampton as first he dazzled Jason Roy with outswingers and then frazzled England captain Jos Buttler with a peach of an inswinger that rattled his stumps.
Defending 199, India got a perfect start with the ball from their senior statesman. Bhuvneshwar bowled three dots to Jason Roy, one of the most destructive and attacking white-ball openers, and had him in a tizzy with his outswingers, the third one squaring him up, before Roy got off the mark and off the strike with a single.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Jos Buttler for a golden duck
That brought the newly appointed England skipper Jos Buttler to the crease. And it turned out to be a hellish delivery for Buttler, who has been in surreal form in limited-overs cricket this year having finished with a Orange Cap in the IPL and then hammered a quickfire century against the Netherlands in an ODI. But this was one of the finest swing bowlers of all-time Buttler was up against.
From the non-striker’s end, Buttler had seen Bhuvneshwar’s outswingers troubling his opening partner and perhaps even may have expected another one of those for himself. But Kumar, using his immense experience and expertise in moving the ball sideways, delivered the sucker punch right away.
It was a prodigious inswinger that outdid Buttler; it swung in big, pitched outside off-stump and then continued to move in large into the batsman. Buttler tried to flick it, but in vain, as the ball brushed his back pad and thudded into the middle and leg-stump., leaving the batsman with a dumbfounded expression.
You can watch the video here:
What a beauty from Bhuvi!!!pic.twitter.com/tFQOVWZ552
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 7, 2022
