Top 4 revival stories for Bhuvneshwar Kumar in international cricket

#4 Maiden fifty and five-wicket haul - India tour of Sri Lanka (2017)

Composed Bhuvi winning the game with Dhoni

When India toured Sri Lanka last year, the swing bowler was part of the test squad but not included in the playing XI for the series. But a crucial and memorable ODI series was in the queue for the seamer.

With the start of the 50-over series, he was desperate to establish himself again. At the end of three matches, his drought for wickets in the ODI series lead him to be dropped out of the playing XI in the following match. The exclusion happened despite his heroics with the bat in second ODI where he played a match-winning 53* with MS Dhoni to guide India home in the chase.

Thus, when he was included for the final ODI at Colombo, he had a point to prove with the ball. He dominated the batsmen right from the beginning of the innings. He trapped Niroshan Dickwella and Dilshan Munaweera early in the innings, both with the knuckleball. Later, when Lahiru Thirimanne was well all set, Bhuvi came back to clean him up with his seam bowling.

Ultimately, he claimed the first fifer of his ODI career, thereby winning the Player of the Match award.