Last call for Kumble?

At 4.04 in the afternoon, Anil Kumble came on to bowl his first over of the day from the BEML End. And though the Indian team management was being tight-lipped and less than transparent [so, what's new?] about the nature of his sore shoulder, it was impossible to escape the feeling that you were witnessing his Test match swansong, after 18 years and 616 wickets.

Apart from an extremely difficult return catch that he couldn't hold on to against Brad Haddin, he rarely looked like adding to that tally. Kumble's return to the fray - he had spent close to two hours off the field in the morning, having the shoulder iced - and the switch to spin from both ends merely resulted in a spurt in the scoring rate, and by day's end, only one team had a chance of winning the game.

Australia eschewed any sort of flamboyance for most of the afternoon, and it was only when Shane Watson and Brad Haddin came together that the field began to be pierced regularly. When Haddin arrived at the crease, the lead was still only 198, but the initial flurry of shots helped stretch that to far more imposing proportions.

Harbhajan had bowled beautifully from one end in Kumble's absence. Michael Hussey shouldered arms to a perfectly pitched doosra and with Simon Katich's slow crawl to 34 having been ended by a tame bunt to silly point, India must have scented a chance. The quick bowlers had once again done their bit, with Ishant Sharma's slower deliveries flummoxing both Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.

The lack of a fourth bowler, Kumble being a pale-shadow of his old Jumbo self, told eventually though, and the batsmen will need to show the sort of heart Zaheer Khan did on the fourth morning if the game is to be saved.

At the end of the day's play, Watson suggested that the pitch wasn't as hard to bat on as it appeared, but it will be the gremlins in the mind rather than the cracks on the surface that India have to battle. In Sydney last January, they lost nine wickets after lunch to lose one of the most controversial matches of recent times. And three years earlier, a similar post-lunch capitulation cost them a series win against Pakistan.

That was at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and if it's to be the venue where the Kumble journey comes to an end, the supporters flocking in tomorrow will hope that the bitter taste of defeat doesn't accompany him out of a game that he played in true Hemingway fashion, with grace under pressure.

Comments

[Shyam]

I wonder what happens to Kumble now after day 2 of the 2nd test given Amit Mishra's performance, and Dhoni taking the game by the scruff of the neck as batsman and as captain? As Jim Hacker says in Yes Minister "One day you're out of your office, the next day you're out of office!"

[neilsrini]

number-blind but not blind. where are the memorable innings to back up the hype

[dsingh]

NeilSrini,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, your hatred against SRT is inexplicable and unjustified. Either you have not been watching test cricket or you are number-blind. But you know what... this happens only in India and with the Indian cricket fan in particular, the distance between hero and zero is fairly small. And spewing hatred comes free too.:-)

[neilsrini]

SHYAM the question you should ask yourself is why is Sachin Tendulkar a gimmie in the side to such an extent that you failed to mention him name. What is it with the Indian psyche that the 20 year flop is undropable. Sachin failed in the first innings and in Lanka. How long can we just accept this passenger who walks in from the physio room series after series. Dravid has and always will be a better batsman and is now a better fielder and extremely important in the slips. What does Sachin add to the team.

[Shyam]

I don't think Kumble has anything to prove as a bowler or captain; he has been a great player for India, and he should call it quits after this test match. His bowling form has been poor, and his captaincy has been too defensive - everytime Dhoni has led the side (notably in Kanpur against South Africa, and yesterday till Kumble came back) he has been more pro-active. Twenty20 success may not produce batsmen with the technique to succeed in test matches. However, a successful captain in twenty20 has to display greater adaptability and quick thinking, and this can only help when it comes to decision making in a test match. Dhoni has it in him to be a good test match captain, as Kirsten recognizes (though the BCCI may gag him for saying so!).
I think the Indian team to take on England will be completely revamped. I expect Dravid to also call it a day after this series; he was always a guy who preferred to jump than to be pushed. Laxman will probably get the chop if he does not make any substantial scores as he is the fall guy, usually for no fault of his.

[neilsrini]

What more symbolic place to signal the end of an era and the dawning of a new one than Bangalore. The city that symbolizes the new India. Who would have thought 18 years ago that kids In the stands would be wearing sunglasses and talking on mobile phones. But then again who would have thought that we would have been blessed with such a golden generation

[neilsrini]

The finest Indian spinner of all time bowed out the way we all knew he would, without a grimace, brave and dignified.

You can't help feeling that perhaps the finest era of Indian cricket talent is coming to a close. Dravid, Sachin, VVS, Dada and Jumbo. Will we ever produce such an array of colossal performers on the same team sheet again?

The game is over Australia is the only winner from here. A draw would be lucky.