Sanjay Bangar, India’s former batting coach, believes Bhuvneshwar Kumar has got his swing back and the UP pacer is someone who can take early wickets and put the opposition on backfoot. His comments come as Rohit Sharma and company whitewashed New Zealand in a three-match T20I series that concluded on Sunday. 

Riding on skipper Rohit Sharma’s half-century and a brilliant bowling display, India defeated the Kiwis by 73 runs in the final T20I at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Spinner Axar Patel was named the player of the match for picking three wickets, giving away nine runs in his four-over quota. 

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Dissecting the Indian camp’s performance in the series, Sanjay Bangar, on Star Sports show Follow The Blues, said, “They have been very professional, they have been put under the pump a bit by the New Zealand openers but the way Indian spinners have responded in the middle overs has been fantastic”.

Spinners played a major role in India’s success against New Zealand. Axar Patel picked four wickets with an average of 16.5 and Ravichandran Ashwin too provided crucial breakthroughs. 

“Ashwin and Axar Patel both bowling well in tandem has really worked well for the Indian team in the middle overs. When they were chasing, I felt that the form that both the openers has been clinical for the Indian team performances in the series so far,” Bangar backed the Indian spinners. 

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He also praised Bhuvneshwar Kumar for ‘getting his swing back’. 

“Can’t take anything away from somebody like Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Whenever he’s played and he’s bowled with that new ball, he’s got his swing back. The wicket that he took in the first match of Daryl Mitchell was a dream and it augers really well for the Indian team because he’s somebody who can give you those initial breakthroughs in the first six overs inside the powerplay and that sets any opposition on the back foot,” the former batting coach said. 

Bangar seemed impressed by Harshal Patel. The Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler picked four wickets in two games in his debut series. 

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“How Harshal Patel took his chance in his debut match was really impressive because he’s someone who’s been known to rely a lot on his slow ball variations and in the matches there were a lot of dew. Despite that, he overcame the challenge and bowled really well with a wet ball and still used his variations, with cutters and slow bouncers. I felt that was a big plus for the Indian team as well.”

India will be locking horns against New Zealand in a two-match Test series beginning from November 25.