England vs India: Dhoni needs to be careful of overworking Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar must feel like he has to do everything for this Indian team. A five-for and a pair of half-centuries were vital contributions in the draw at Nottingham. He then backed that up with a battling 36 on the first day of the second Test at Lord’s, adding 90 with Ajinkya Rahane to resuscitate the Indian innings. How did Dhoni reward him? By bowling him for 23 overs on the second day, including an 11-over spell to start England’s innings. Kumar repaid his captain with 4 for 46 but his excellence only underscored the lack of penetration from the rest of India’s bowling attack. [caption id=“attachment_1625469” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Image from BCCI[/caption] While Mohammad Shami did manage to draw the edge of Sam Robson’s bat in the 10th over - Rahane shelled the straight forward chance at second slip – he was mostly too short and too wayward. Ishant Sharma was adequate without being threatening. Their combined figures of 0 for 65 from 32 overs tell the story. Two wickets did fall to spin, but both had an element of luck. Joe Root edged one on to his pads but was given out lbw while Hawkeye’s verdict on Moeen Ali’s lbw decision was umpire’s call, suggesting it could have gone either way. It was therefore left to Kumar do the running for India. His pitch map showed every delivery was pitched on a good length or further up to right-handers and aside from a handful of them, were all on offstump or just outside. With the pitch offering up some seam movement, that discipline earned him the early wickets of Alastair Cook and Robson, both caught behind by MS Dhoni. He struck in his second spell as well, removing the ever dangerous Ian Bell. At that stage England were 70 and 3 and some help from the other end would have put India in a position of strength. Unfortunately, the help was not forthcoming. The lack of support was exacerbated by some poor captaincy from Dhoni, who seemed to forget about Stuart Binny again. On a pitch he said would suit Binny, Dhoni gave him just 10 of India’s 86 overs on the day. Even when Binny did get the ball, Dhoni decided against going for a regulation catch when Binny drew the edge from Balance. The batsman was on 32 then and would go on to make 110. You wouldn’t blame Binny if he smashed a hole in his hotel room wall tonight. Kumar was brought back when the second new ball was taken and though clearly fatigued, picked up a cheap wicket when Balance tickled one down the legside. It was an enormous effort from the bowler but one that could have repercussions as the series progresses. “[If you bowl him this much] you will finish him before the series,” Wasim Akram said about Kumar in the post match wrap on Star Sports. With the memories of India’s 2011 bowling attack falling to pieces still relatively fresh, India can’t afford to lose Kumar by overworking him. But if he doesn’t get much support with the ball from his fast bowling team-mates, India might not have a choice.