The Hindu : Sport : Kumble will come out with flying colours

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Sunday, Nov 11, 2007
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Kumble will come out with flying colours

Kumble deserves the Test captaincy more than anybody, writes Gundappa Viswanath

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

CAMARADERIE: Anil Kumble’s on-and-off-court intimacy with Rahul Dravid will augur well for India as the former takes charge as Test captain.

Better late than never was my first thought when I learnt about Anil Kumble being named the Indian Test captain and that’s exactly what I told him.

Besieged as he was with phone calls from well-wishers, I didn’t want to take too much of his time but did manage to tell him: “You deserve it more than anybody and I am sure you will come out with flying colours.”

However, I must confess to being somewhat confused by the message being sent out to Anil by the National selectors by picking him as skipper for only the Tests against Pakistan. Where was the need for such a short stop-gap arrangement?

He certainly can’t be on any sort of a trial, at least I don’t believe that can be the case.

After all he has captained his first class side Karnataka regularly and with distinction and played long and well for the country, so there cannot be a question of him being new to the captaincy role or inexperienced in any way.

Or do the selectors think that someone like M.S. Dhoni will grow into the job after another three Tests?

Indian viewpoint

Having been part of the selection process for a while, I can understand some of the pulls and pressures that are part of the decision making but somehow I think this is a case of not wanting to make someone too happy.

It’s a typical Indian viewpoint — Indian cricket viewpoint to clarify — that nobody is left completely happy and no one is left sad either.

So while Anil can be happy to a point, Dhoni need not fret.

To revert to the now riveting ODI series on hand, Pakistan’s come-from-behind win has set the series up again.

Their listless display in the first game had thrown up thoughts of some one-sided contests in the offing but the manner in which they overhauled India’s massive 320 under lights at Mohali, put paid to all such thoughts.

Missing a trick

The Indians certainly missed a trick in the second game, something they must rectify before the Kanpur match. A fifth bowler would have helped keep the Pakistanis in check.

The visitors were well aware that the Indians were without a regular fifth bowler, which meant that even if just one of the main bowlers went off the track, the task would get that much easier.

Irrespective of the Indian decision to play an additional batsman, credit must be given to the Pakistani batsmen, Younis Khan in particular.

They trusted the pitch and their own ability to switch gears just when required. Chasing 321 on any sort of pitch is not easy but the methodical manner in which Younis and then Misbah batted was what made the difference in the end.

It’s all about making a plan and executing it without allowing panic to set in, like it happened in their last match against the South Africans.

Younis also showed how much it helps when a settled batsman carries on. This is something the Indians must also learn to do.

They have been guilty of not cashing in fully and that can prove costly again just as it did at Mohali.

As regards Sachin’s knock, I have no real explanation for Sachin failing to get to and past a century yet again.

He batted beautifully once he had judged the nature of the pitch but for someone of his calibre and experience to fall repeatedly in the nineties is one of the stranger quirks of cricket.

Hawkeye Communications / Chivach Sports

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