India’s Kumar eyes Lord’s return for World Cup final

India paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar has fond memories of Lord’s and he hopes to make more history at the iconic venue by playing there in a World Cup final.

The 29-year-old made his mark at the ‘home of cricket’ by leading the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India to a famous Test win there in 2014, his first tour with the national team.

Kumar returned figures of six for 82 and struck 52 with the bat but now he wants to be a one-day international star at Lord’s by playing there in the World Cup final on July 14.

“I’ve been here two or three times but I always like coming back to play in England. It would mean a lot to get to go back to Lord’s for the final of the World Cup,” said Kumar.

“Lord’s is always a special place, not just for me but for any cricketer. I have very good memories there, so if we reach the final it will be a very big moment for not just me but for the whole team.”

India, now captained by Virat Kohli, have been tagged as one of the favourites to lift the World Cup along with England and Australia.

They begin their campaign against South Africa, who’ve already lost their first two matches, on Wednesday.

But a dominating warm-up win over Bangladesh earlier this week already gives Kumar confidence of a good showing in the 50-over showpiece event.

“We got everything we wanted out of the match; when it comes to batting, bowling and fielding,” he said.

Centuries from Dhoni and Lokesh Rahul helped India to 359 for seven, a total their bowlers defended by bundling out Bangladesh for 264.

Kumar sent down five disciplined overs, conceding just 19 runs to put pressure on the opposition batsmen who lost their wickets to the spinners.

“Chasing 350 down is a very big task,” Kumar said. “There’s always extra belief when you go to bowl. You have the liberty to try a few things.”

Meanwhile, after playing their warm-up matches, Team India has been gearing up for their World Cup opener against South Africa.

Amid the training sessions, the team has been seen having some fun times in England in order to keep themselves fresh ahead of their first match, the pictures of which has been regularly posted by the official Twitter handle of BCCI.

On Saturday, the BCCI posted a picture of Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya sweating it out alongside strength and conditioning (S&C) trainer Shanker Basu and asked Twitteratis to caption the photo.

Twitterati, who have been anxiously waiting for India’s first outing at the showpiece event, promptly obliged to the request and decided to have some fun.

One user captioned the photo as “Every parent in malls stopping their kids.”

Another Twitter user made the reference of trending #JCBkikhudayi and captioned the image — “Pandya: Chor re meko #JCBKiKudhayi dekhni jani hai.”

During the practice sessions on Saturday, skipper Virat Kohli had injured his right thumb while practicing, thus giving a major injury scare ahead of India’s opening clash against South Africa.

However, it was later confirmed that he has not sustained any serious injury.

The Faf du Plessis-led side, which have lost both their opening matches against England and Bangladesh, would be desperate for a win when they face the Men in Blue on June 5.

Agencies