The 'B' Company gives India new hope in death overs

Bengaluru, October 30: Bhuvneswhar Kumar walked into to bowl the 47th over when New Zealand needed 35 runs off 24 balls. Till then, the right-arm pacer had a forgettable day - 8-0-77-0.

But Bhuvneshwar put behind that awful time to bowl an excellent over in which he conceded just five runs and yorked Henry Nicholls (37 off 24 balls).

At that stage, New Zealand needed 30 runs from 18 balls, a winnable position considering the presence of Tom Latham and big-hitting Colin de Grandhomme in the middle.

3rd ODI: Bumrah delivers in death overs as India beat New Zealand by 6 runs; clinch series 2-1

Indian skipper Virat Kohli entrusted the 48th over with Jasprit Bumrah despite him giving away 14 runs in his previous over - 46th of the NZ innings.

Bumrah produced a tight over, gave hardly any space for either batsmen to free their arms.

The mounting tension eventually produced a moment of panic and Latham, who backed up tad too much, was beaten by Bumrah's throw.

WATCH - Bowling blueprints with @Jaspritbumrah93 and @BhuviOfficial - by @RajalArora https://t.co/nQvS7GMPaw #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/LPhGzQcBaP

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2017

Significantly, Bumrah conceded only five runs in this over to go with a wicket. After 48 overs, the Kiwis required 25 runs off 12 balls. India held on to win the match by six runs.

Between overs 46th and 50th, NZ batsmen could manage only three boundaries and a six.

In the past, India had often struggled to win this sort of matches. In fact, India have had issues - except on a few occasions - with death over bowling in limited over cricket.

But now the 'B' Company is on its way to change the history and together they are quite a force to be reckoned with.

They do not have express pace but they negate it with exceptional control over line/length and accuracy.

Bhuvneshwar, who depends on his ability to swing the ball in the opening overs, is a different beast in the death overs.

The Uttar Pradesh man here metamorphs into a shooter, aiming the stumps through a lower trajectory.

He had done that on a number of occasions for Sunrisers Hyderabad between overs 16 and 20 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and that, perhaps, helps him when he dons the blue uniform too.

"I practice yorkers with wet balls and we create a final overs match scenario to make it more effective," he had said during the ODI series against England earlier this year.

Now, don't tag him as a one-dimensional bowler. Bhuvneshwar has other variations like slow bouncers and the knuckle ball to fox the batsmen.

"I developed the knuckle-ball just before the IPL this year. It's useful to have this in India where the ball does not swing much and there are only two fielders in catching positions. Hence, I started developing it in the nets," said Bhuvneshwar.

Bumrah is primarily a hit-the-deck bowler with a rather quirky action and a direct product of the IPL. But he too can unleash the full-length deliveries at will at any stage of the match.

His association with Shane Bond at Mumbai Indians too had a massive impact on Bumrah, deepening his awareness about his own craft and the injury management.

Great team work, amazing win! 👌💪
Celebrations.. Jatt ji style! 😎 pic.twitter.com/hkODublvBX

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 29, 2017

Together Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have taken 32 wickets from 18 matches at a shade over 29 and that effort has played a pivotal role in carrying India to the top rungs of one-day cricket.

India boast of having the best finisher in one-dayers in their ranks - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Now, they can rightfully claim to have the best finishers with the ball too with them!