His perfect 10 at the same venue against the same opponents now cricketing lore,
Anil Kumble would renew his tryst with Ferozeshah Kotla when he makes his
debut as Indian captain in the first of the three Test matches against Pakistan
starting here tomorrow.
Given a choice, Kumble would have loved to roll the 22-yard
Kotla strip, pack it in his bag and take it home after he claimed all 10 wickets
in Pakistan's second innings in that unforgettable second Test in 1999.
Since then, Kumble has become one of the most senior players
in the dressing room, and when he walks out for the toss with counterpart Shoaib
Malik, he would expect the Kotla to be as benign as it was eight years ago.
The beginning, however, has not been auspicious. The bowling
attack lost some of its teeth and firepower with the vastly improved R P
Singh and highly inflammable S Sreesanth reduced to benchwarmers by injuries.
RP has been in red hot form since the UK tour, while Sreesanth proved he is
as much a wicket-taker with the ball as a rabble-rouser with his antics.
Though Munaf Patel and Ishant Sharma have been
rushed in as cover, the void would be hard to fill. Till Munaf joined the squad,
Kumble had at his disposal two pacers Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan
against three spinners Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik and himself.
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