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Cricket
Englishmen should sort out Kumble
It was once again a day when England flattered to deceive. The century partnership for the opening wicket raised visions of a huge first innings score, before Anil Kumble got into the picture to dent the English hopes.
Having said that, it must be mentioned that England was done in by a couple of horrendous decisions by umpire Ian Robinson, captain Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan being the unfortunate victims.
After Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher gave their side a flying start, faulty umpiring was the last thing, England, struggling for survival in the series, needed.
Trescothick and Butcher did bat well in the morning, with the former in particular essaying some fluent strokes. However, the Indian new ball pair of Javagal Srinath and Tinu Yohannan were guilty of bowling a touch too short.
There was a delayed start to the match because of excessive dew on the pitch, and it goes without saying that had Srinath and Yohannan bowled a fuller length there would have been a degree of assistance for them.
The left-handed Trescothick does appear a fine player, and the best aspect of his batting is his positive approach. He puts away the loose balls competently and is always looking to keep the scoreboard moving.
Kumble was the star performer for India again, and although he seldom gets the ball to turn much, his accuracy in length coupled with his probing line does the trick for him.
He may not be a purists' delight as a leg-spinner, but you have to give Kumble his due. He bowls to his strength and keeps the pressure on the batsmen.
I am surprised that the English players have still not found out a way to counter Kumble. Considering that he is never going to turn the ball away too much from the right-hander, they could surely work out a ploy. Many of these batsmen have taken on the leggie in the county circuit, and it's baffling why they continue to struggle.
If Kumble was persistent, then Harbhajan disappointed, reverting to bowling quicker through the air, and losing his rhythm in the process. At Mohali, Harbhajan sparkled because he flighted the ball and extracted bounce.
Ironically, it was Sachin Tendulkar who produced the ball of the day, a lovely googly that castled Mark Ramprakash, who was batting with refreshing freedom till that point. Tendulkar also bowled sharp off-spin, and his variety as a bowler continues to astonish me.
However, with Harbhajan clearly off-colour, Ganguly could have given a bowl to Virender Sehwag much earlier, considering that he is an useful off-spinner, at least in the domestic circuit.
Finally, England, thanks to some bold and spirited batting by Craig White, managed to end the day at a reasonable 277 for six. If the visitors score around 350, then India could be under some pressure.
This pitch might crumble in the later stages, and even ordinary spinners could appear dangerous. It was a good toss to win for Nasser Hussain.
K.SRIKKANTH
www.krishsrikkanth.com
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