This tour has been brilliant, particularly talking about Test series. Yes we lost two matches, but they were very close,

Bhuvneswar Kumar

easy to switch between formats but it is all about practice and preparation. You need 2-3 overs to adjust when you play but when it comes to T20s, you have to be proactive and you cannot react after what the batsman does,” he added.

India’s strength in this T20 series has been powerplays. They have looked to dominate with both bat and ball, particularly in the last game as Kumar bowled a tight first spell to leave South Africa at 25/1 in six overs at Newlands yesterday.

However, Kumar said the key to India’s success was in bowling well throughout the innings.

“Power plays are very important in both formats, but you cannot win matches based on power plays alone. If any team is down 4-5 wickets in the power plays but you still end up giving too many runs in the end, then you cannot win,” he said.

“Power play is an important factor to win matches but you have to contain the runs in middle overs and you have to do brilliantly in the death overs,” added Kumar, who played an instrumental role as India beat South Africa by 7 runs to win the three-match T20I series 2-1.

Throughout the tour, Kumar has been the stand- out bowler for India but pacer didn’t take any credit and attributed his success to the entire bowling unit.

“When bowling, I don’t think I am the leader. Instead whenever anyone is bowling in this team, he thinks he is the leader. Then only we can win matches. Individually you need to have a brilliant day to take 10 wickets on your own. Mostly you can take only 4-5 wickets. So it’s about partnerships and hunting in the pack. That’s what cricket is about whether batting or bowling,” said Kumar.

When asked about his omission from the second Test, Kumar brushed it off in jest, instead choosing to revel in the present moment.

“I don’t know about that (not playing in second Test at Centurion). I don’t want to go back to the Tests, or why I didn’t play. It’s all about team effort. If you talk about that match, there were bowlers who could bowl brilliantly in those conditions,” he added.

Talking about bowling to new faces in the South African team, Kumar said, “Heinrich Klaasen is an amazing player given the way he batted in the last two matches and in the ODIS also. They are very good players. When you play against new players, you don’t know what their strengths are, especially Christiaan Jonker, we didn’t know what he does. It is never easy to play first match against any player. They are new players but I think we bowled well to get them out.”

Indian bowlers picked all 60 wickets on tough surfaces during their narrow 1-2 loss in Tests and Kumar hoped they can dominate the longer format of the game when they tour South Africa next.