Seaming Eden wicket prompted Bhuvneshwar's selection, says Wriddhiman Saha

After losing quick wickets at the end of Day 1, India looked set for a lowly target of around 260 runs in the first innings, but an assured fifty from Wriddhiman Saha along with few valuable contributions from Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami lower down the order ensured that India crossed the safe mark of 300 runs for New Zealand to chase. Bhuvneshwar kumar, picked ahead of Umesh Yadav for the match, immediately made an impact derailing the New Zealand first innings with a brilliant 5/33 on day 2. 

Speaking about the team selection ahead of the match, wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha said, "We make our team as per the situation. Umesh (Yadav) played in last match but we thought the wicket would be a bit more seaming-friendly so Bhuvi came into the team”.

Saha also cited the example of Bhuvneshwar's inclusion in the match to highlight the bench strength India possess.

"Obviously he's(Bhuvneshwar) a very good bowler. We have a very good bench strength. He really bowled well. Also credit should be given to (Ravindra) Jadeja, Shami and (Ravichandran) Ashwin. We will look to carry that forward."

Speaking about his performance at the start of the second day, where he made an unbeaten 54 and took India to a fighting total of 316, Saha said, "Our plan in the team meeting was to extend our partnership and carry the innings forward to get past 300. It happened with Jadeja and Shami giving fine contribution.”

"Wicket was seaming a bit. The idea was to convert them into boundaries and rotate strikes otherwise we would not have got past 250-260. It happened that way. We wanted to hit the loose balls," Saha added.

When asked to rate his innings, Saha said, "Everyone has appreciated the knock. I did not get much time as I had to come back for keeping. But I'm happy that I could take it to a respectable total. I'm happy for the team. Everyone contributed well. All matches are equal for me. I would like to contribute in every match."