Bhuvneshwar Kumar is always heard saying that swinging the ball is his biggest asset as a bowler. In the third test against West Indies at St Lucia, Bhuvi was all together a different bowler. His new found pace and swing friendly conditions made for the perfect highlight for his fans.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was part of the Indian squad that toured South Africa last year in October. But, he did not receive a game in the series. His swing was overtaken by Umesh Yadav’s pace and Stuart Binny’s all round abilities in the series.

The swing conditions at St Lucia made way for a change as Kumar replaced Yadav in the playing XI. Conditions this time helped swing overtake pace as Bhuvi joined the team. The result of his inclusion became visible very much from his first spell when he started darting the ball around. Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept his line of attack just outside the off stump teasing the batsmen to go for their shots.

This display of swing bowling from Kumar was similar to the one he displayed during India’s 2014 tour to England.  He picked up 19 wickets in the tour and was by far the best Indian bowler on the tour.

Conditions much similar and Kumar was at his best once again. He succeeded in crumbling the West Indies batting line-up almost single-handedly under the burden of expectations. It was his spell that started India’s road to victory in the test match which finally materialized on the fifth day. West Indies were moving strong at 202 for 4 and eventually end up at 225 courtesy Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Pace, bounce, indipper, out-swing, some which held the line Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought everything out from his bag of tricks to leave West Indies spell bound. The West Indies spectators who were much less in number on the final  day saw some fine disciplined bowling from the Indian speedster and people who missed it missed some artistry with the ball.

Image Courtesy: Indian Express