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Kumble wants 400th wicket in front of home crowd
Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble hopes to claim his 400th wicket on home turf when the first Test against Australia starts on Wednesday.
India's Anil Kumble hopes to claim his 400th wicket on home turf when the first Test against Australia starts on Wednesday, but preferably not on the opening day itself.
The veteran leg-spinner is three wickets away from becoming the second Indian after Kapil Dev and the ninth in Test history to achieve the bowlers' version of climbing Mount Everest.
"It would be great to get it in front of my home crowd," the 33-year-old Bangalore-based software engineer said.
"But hopefully it will not come on the first day because I want India to bat first on this wicket."
The bone-dry turf at the Chinnaswamy stadium, described by Australian coach John Buchanan as "terrible", is expected to favour Kumble and his spin twin Harbhajan Singh.
"It is a slow wicket that will take a lot of spin," Kumble said. "We have always done very well at home. It is important to start well and the first test is always crucial.
"When you come so close to a landmark, you want it out of the way as fast as possible. I don't want to linger on with it.
"But for India's sake I hope we bat first."
Kumble took his 300th wicket on the same ground three years ago against England, but had to endure an agonising wait till las man Matthew Hoggard came to the crease to take the solitary wicket he needed.
