Bhuvneshwar Kumar pinpoints Colin Munro as New Zealand's main threat

Despite having an erratic tour in India, where he has struggled to retain consistency at the top of the Kiwi batting order, Colin Munro seemed to have troubled Indian bowlers the most in the ongoing series. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has admitted, ahead of the series-deciding third T20I, that the explosive southpaw has been a tough nut to crack for the Indian bowlers, although others have been competitive as well.

“Munro has troubled us but others as well. Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill are good batsmen as well. We can't really pinpoint one batsman when the team is playing really well. Both series (ODI and T20I) have come to the decider. So, Munro is the dangerous batsman but the whole team is a good one,” Bhuvneshwar said during the pre-match press conference.

Munro had scored 113 runs in three ODIs and after failing in the first T20I, steered New Zealand to post a mammoth target with a superb unbeaten 109 in Rajkot that included seven sixes and seven boundaries. The Indian bowlers will have to look to limit him to a small score on Tuesday in Thiruvananthapuram to boost their chances of winning the series.

India’s bowlers had a nightmarish game in Rajkot as the Kiwis posted a humongous target of 197. The likes of Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj, and Axar Patel all went for expensive run rates of above 12, which led many to debate if India lacked a specialist fifth bowler. However, Bhuvneshwar dismissed such worries stating that the side is not concerned with an extra bowler.

"You cannot blame bowlers for the loss. The other team is there to play as well. As far as a fifth bowler is concerned, we have Hardik Pandya and others bowl part-time. We haven't missed an extra specialist bowler so far. If your main bowlers do not take a wicket or go for runs, then you miss a bowler,” he explained.

The 27-year-old was also asked about the current debate revolving around MS Dhoni following his ineffective innings in the second T20I. And expectantly, the player came out in full support of his teammate.

“We (as a team) don't think much about that. You look over his records, he is a legend and whatever he has done, he did it for the country. So, no one in the team has any doubts about him."