Bhuvneshwar Kumar revealed he was not able to believe he had hit a ball so hard that it knocked down Hardik Pandya, who was sharing the pitch with the bowler during India's 50-run win over Australia in the second of the five-match ODI series in Kolkata on Thursday, September 21.
After skipper Virat Kohli's 92, Kumar and Pandya stitched a handy 35-run partnership to help India set a 253-run target, which proved too much in the end for the visitors at the Eden Gardens.
During the crucial stand, Kumar slapped a Nathan Coulter-Nile's delivery (in the 47th over) straight into the helmet of Pandya, after which both the batsmen and the Australian players, including captain Steve Smith, signalled for immediate medical attention.
Pandya though sprang up on his feet and confirmed he was okay despite being on the receiving end of the hit dangerously. Replays showed the 24-year-old all-rounder was hit under his right ear. However, he managed to take some pace off the ball by putting his hand in between before it struck his helmet.
"I checked my bat just to reconfirm that it was indeed me who struck the ball with so much power. When he got hit, we were all worried," Bhuvneshwar told BCCI's website bcci.tv.
He added: "It looked like a serious blow, but thankfully he was alright. Once he was back on his feet, we began planning about building a partnership."
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Lucky day for Pandya
Evidently, Pandya, who had struck a match-winning 83 from just 66 balls in the first ODI on Sunday (September 17), had luck going his way throughout his 26-ball 20-run stay at the crease.
The all-rounder escaped a first-ball duck when he got a thick inside edge that just missed the stumps. Two overs later he edged one, but the ball went through a vacant second slip position. Pandya was then gifted a life when he was dismissed off a no-ball in the 48th over of the innings and also a run out appeal against him, after which there was a small rain delay.
All-round efforts
Bhuvneshwar and Pandya then hurt Australia with the ball as well as the two picked up five wickets between them on Thursday.
Bhuvneshwar finished with a mind-boggling figures of 3 for 9 in 6.1 overs after removing Australian openers David Warner and Hilton Cartwright inside the first five overs.
Pandya got the big fish, Steve Smith, who was looking dangerous at the crease after having hit his 18th ODI half century. Notably, the Baroda all-rounder had dismissed the Australian captain in the first ODI as well.
