Back
Sport
With Kumble, it's all about the heart
S. Dinakar
| On the South African tracks he could prove effective with his subtle variations |
WILY CAMPAIGNER: Anil Kumble's craft and precision will be a key factor in India's bowling attack.
Johannesburg: On a lovely sun-lit afternoon at the Wanderers, Anil Kumble bounded in with typical intensity. He was as focussed in the nets as in a match. You can expect nothing less from this champion bowler.
The other day, this 36-year-old man gave his much younger team-mates a run for their money when the Indian team had a sprinting session. It was his will that was driving him down the last stretch.
With Kumble, it is all about the heart.
"It would be nice if they (the South African batsmen) take me on. It gives me a chance to pick up wickets," responded Kumble, here, on Tuesday, when told about the home team's ploy to go after him. But then, he has always thought positively.
Even as the Indians collapsed in the Port Elizabeth ODI, Sunil Gavaskar, during one of his brief visits to the press box, declared, "He (Kumble) would put up a fight." The little big man knows much about an essential commodity: commitment.
Coach's respect
Coach Greg Chappell calls Kumble "a great cricketer and a quality human being."
On what were essentially seaming tracks, Kumble proved a point during the ODI series. He bowled with rhythm and control, could contain and strike. "One-day cricket is a young man's game, but experience also plays a role. It was nice to be in the scheme of things in the ODIs. But I am still disappointed. As a team we should have done better." Here is Kumble, the team-man talking.
The pitches for the three-Test series will essentially be tracks with bounce and pace. While the pacemen will be head-hunting, Kumble, too, would relish the bounce.
Kumble's accuracy should create the pressure. And he could prove effective with his subtle variations. He is likely to be the lone spinner in the first Test. "I have had some good games in the past at the Wanderers. It has a wonderful atmosphere," he said.
Impressive record
This genial man is India's greatest match-winner. An astonishing 33-five-wicket and eight ten-wicket (match) hauls adorn his 533 victims in 110 Tests. On the field, he simmers with aggression.
The South Africans, with the exception of Jacques Kallis and Herschelles Gibbs, are not the best players of spin. They are not the best users of the feet either. Kumble, who has 31 wickets in nine previous Tests in South Africa, will be a key component of the Indian attack.
The leg-breaks, the googlies, and the top-spinners will be in view. Kumble spins the ball just enough to beat the bat, and his clever alterations of pace and length, and his fizz off the pitch, often signal doom for the batsmen.
He is confident that India can turn things around in the Tests. "Some said India would lose 4-0 to Australia in 2003 and we had one of our best series ever abroad," he says.
Kumble also believes the Indian batsmen would put up sizable runs on the board. "If you look at the ODI series, we chased a couple of times under lights and history will tell you that this is never easy in South Africa. It is true that a spinner need runs on the board. All we might need is one authoritative knock at the beginning of the series. It could set the tone."
The never-say-die Kumble is still full of beans and optimism.
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu