World Cup 2015: Will Bhuvneshwar Kumar return for Ireland tie?

HAMILTON: It's that innocuous little bend during the course of a gruelling marathon. The first half of the journey has been successfully negotiated and India now has to build on the momentum that they have gathered in the Australian leg of the World Cup.
READ ALSO: Lethal pace trio lights up India's campaign
Four wins in a row have left them in a position of strength and with two potentially easier outings - Ireland and Zimbabwe - up next in their week-long New Zealand leg, Dhoni's boys look good for a first-place finish Pool B.
"This is no opposition at all, India will win easy," former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said on Sunday.
The pitch at Seddon Park - the venue of the Ireland game on Tuesday - is supposed to be batting friendly. The curator says there won't be any lateral movement, but given the open ground and the consistent breeze, there could be swing.
That shouldn't be a worry for skipper MS Dhoni though, given the form that his pace attack is in. Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma have done the job game in all the four matches.
There can also be a case for resting one of them and play Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday. Bhuvi is coming back from an injury and against the Irish Dhoni might just be interested in seeing whether the Uttar Pradesh bowler has regained his form and fitness.
It could also allow the injury-prone Umesh and Shami to stay fresh before the team returns to Australia.
After the West Indies game, Dhoni sounded unhappy with the batting performance of Ravindra Jadeja and there could also be a case for trying out Stuart Binny. But Ganguly felt that the Indian captain is unlikely to do that.
"Jadeja is going to play once the team returns to Australia. I don't see Dhoni dropping Jadeja now just to give Binny a chance. It's about continuity and I feel Jadeja should be tested in the conditions in New Zealand," Ganguly said.
The team reached Hamilton late on Saturday and the players were given Sunday off. While some of them preferred to stay indoors - the likes of Bhuvi, Mohit and Virat Kohli were seen taking a stroll around the city centre.
The coaches, too, took it easy. Ravi Shastri and Bharath Arun were spotted in the pub watching the Australia-Sri Lanka game while Duncan Fletcher had his lunch at the restaurant in the team hotel.
The team returns to practice on Monday and so does the Ireland team that reached Hamilton in the evening after their tough-fought win against Zimbabwe in Hobart. The Irish have also won three of their group games and an upset win against India can assure them of a quarterfinal berth.
"We are looking forward to the India game. We've managed to deal with West Indies and UAE, and now we have to freshen up and take on the India challenge," the Irish captain William Portfield said.
But with the form the Indian team is in, it's anybody's guess whether they will get the chance.
Follow TOI Sports on Twitter >>> @TOISportsNews