India Can Secure ODI Series Against Australia, Says Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Dubai [UAE], Jan 14 (ANI): India right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Monday said that it is "not impossible" for his team to secure the ongoing three-match ODI series against Australia.

In the pursuit of a 289-run target, India slipped to a 34-run defeat in the first ODI. As an outcome, India also went down by 0-1 against Australia.

"We have been in this situation before in India, so we know it is not impossible to win the series. We are preparing in a manner to win the next two matches. It is a kind of knock-out for us. We can't afford to lose this match," ICC quoted Bhuvneshwar, as saying.

"We are not thinking anything different from how we have been thinking for the last couple of years. We just want to win the match and everyone is positive for that. It was one of those matches where the top order didn't click. It can happen when you play too much cricket. So it was just one of those things, it is very rare for us," he added.

Bhuvneshwar, who did not feature in the four-Test series due to a combination of injuries and the selectors' rotation policy, returned into the team for the first ODI.

When asked whether the dropping affected him, the right-arm pacer said: "Matches are totally different when it comes to bowling. I was trying everything to be in rhythm in the nets, but it can't be 100 per cent until you come to a match. It wasn't great in the last match but neither was it bad. It could improve."

"In the nets, I was not planning to bowl in the one-dayers. I was preparing to play in any of the Test matches. There wasn't anything specific that I could do. It was just normal bowling and increasing the number of overs...four overs to six to eight to 10. that was the key thing for me, to be niggle-free and be in bowling rhythm," he added.

The spearhead of India's pace attack, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from both the limited-overs squads for the New Zealand tour. In his absence, Bhuvneshwar, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed are the seam options for the team.

Reflecting on the available combination, Bhuvneshwar pointed out: "I think it is a good combination. Bumrah is not here because he needed some rest. Shami, Khaleel, Siraj and I are doing well in domestic cricket, Indian Premier League (IPL) and Indian matches. Everyone has their own skill set and way of going into a match, so overall it is a good combination." (ANI)

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