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Kumble looks to wrap series up

Y.B. Sarangi

Ponting says his batsmen have to figure out reverse swing

— Photo: S. Subramanium

FIT AGAIN: Anil Kumble, his naturally competitive urge further stoked after his replacements at Mohali — Amit Mishra, the leg-spinner, and M.S. Dhoni, the captain — turned in outstanding performances, will slot back in at the Kotla.

NEW DELHI: The Ferozeshah Kotla has provided many moments of joy for Anil Kumble and the Indian captain wants to make the venue all the more memorable for himself by wrapping up the series against Australia here.

Perhaps, the third Test of the ongoing series starting here on Wednesday will be Kumble’s last at his favourite ground and he hopes it will not end on a disappointing note.

“As a team, we have some fantastic memories of the Kotla and as an individual too I have some personal landmarks which I can never forget. That’s why the team is looking forward to…I am looking forward to this Test,” said Kumble, addressing a pre-match press conference here on Tuesday.

Happy hunting ground

India has a pretty good record at the Kotla — the side has won the last seven Test matches played here and Kumble knows the importance of extending the record. “That (keeping up the winning record) will be our aim and that’s what we would be looking forward to. The record we have at the Kotla and the cricket we played in Mohali give us a lot of confidence,” he said.

Kumble, clearly, wants to focus on just the cricket.

“As far as cricket is concerned, we have done all the good things and we are focussing on playing good cricket so that we can beat them and win the series here,” he said.

Focus on the game

Asked about concerns about his own form, the 38-year-old — the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests with 616 — said he chose to ignore his detractors and focus on the game.

“People have opinions and I respect that. But if you start thinking about all that and play according to people’s opinions, you are never going to go anywhere. I have full faith in myself and the team has confidence in me and I have confidence in my team to go there and perform,” he said.

Acknowledging the significant contribution of the openers, Kumble said, “Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have done a fantastic job in the series and they again are crucial to our success. Both are in great form and we expect that they will give us a flying start again.

“It happened in Mohali and we are hoping that at their home ground they will be able to give us big hundreds.”

Kumble said the short break between the second and third Tests had provided the players an opportunity to unwind and regroup.

No panic

In his press conference, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting insisted there was no panic in the ranks, even though his side was down in the series.

The other day, spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi was spotted at the Aussie nets and on Monday former Australian captain Steve Waugh dropped in. Ponting, however, denied that these were signs of desperation.

“I don’t think (we are panicking). We have been looking around to invite some people to come long and have a look. Greg (Chappell) was the assistant coach for the first two Tests.

“Steve Waugh just happened to be here for some MCC event and I don’t know how Bedi actually ended up there,” Ponting said at a press conference, on the eve of the third Test at the Ferozeshah Kotla, here on Tuesday.

Worthwhile experience

On Australia seeking Bedi’s help, Ponting said: “I have no clue as to how he came around. I was training and Bishan was there. I think he spoke to Jason (Krejza) and a lot of positive stuff came out of it.

“Bishan had some good things to say about Jason after the session and it must be good for his confidence. All in all, I think it was a worthwhile experience and it might happen again at some stage.”

The Australian captain admitted that the touring side had to find out better ways of dealing with the reverse swing generated by Indian pacers to stay in contention in the series.

“We’ve spoken a lot about it. Reverse swing played a very big part in the first two Test matches and more so in the last game where the Indians certainly out-bowled us with reverse swing.

“It’s now up to our batsmen, they’ll have to play a lot better than we did last week,” he added.

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