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Mohali Test: Jumbo turns India's fortunes
The spinner's three wickets put India in a commanding position at stumps on the fourth day. Full scorecard
They said many things about Anil Kumble. That how he is the spinner he is not. That he only turns at the end of his run up!
One Englishman went even further. Kumble is no bowler. An emphatic statement by Keith Fletcher back in 1993. Only months later, the 'no bowler' took 21 wickets in three Tests against Fletcher-managed England who were white-washed.
Not that he turned the ball much at the PCA Stadium on Sunday. But he did the turn the fortunes of a match. He challenged everything -- some dogged England batsmen, a batsmen friendly track and even the Rain God who was not willing to give enough time for a match to be decided.
But Kumble (3/41) kept on bowling straighter and straighter, turning everything into India's favour. And when he finally managed to end the resistance of Ian Bell, who was threatening to become the Wall of England, Indians were sniffing what was till Saturday seemed an improbable win.
After conceding a 38-run first innings lead, England were 112/5, with a modest lead of 74 runs, at stumps on the penultimate day of the second Test.
The somber look of Andrew Flintoff (16 not out in 37 balls, 1 four) said it all. England need their talismanic captain to be at his best when he would resume the England innings with Geraint Jones (1 not out) on Monday.
Bell (57 in 137 balls, 7 fours) showed the patience required to tackle Kumble. But the Indian never missed a chance to tease him with his variations and eventually, he succumbed to the pressure, edging one to MS Dhoni.
It was the same pressure because of which 10 over earlier Paul Collingwood (14 in 36 balls, 2 fours) had fallen to Kumble. It wasn't a wicket-taking ball, but Collingwood played away from the body to Rahul Dravid at slip.
On one hand Kumble was making the Englishmen feel the heat, on the other, he inspired Harbhajan Singh to bowl as well as he could from the other end.
Dravid's faith on Harbhajan:
Harbhajan's confidence got a beating in Pakistan on those lifeless wickets. But Dravid hasn't lost his confidence in the bowler.
After Munaf Patel gave India the breakthrough, it was Harbhajan that Dravid first turned to. He did bowl well, but luck wasn't on his side.
Bell, in between showing that straight bat and sense of timing, saw his leaning edge off Harbhajan landing at no man's land (at point) and then one edge falling just short of Dravid in slip.
Kumble bowled one just out side off to Andrew Strauss, he went for a sweep, the ball hit his boot and jumped and MS Dhoni took the catch.
Simon Taufel referred to the third umpire who ruled the batsman out.
That must have given Harbhajan the boost. Kevin Pietersen walked in with the swagger of a knight. For one with the reputation as a great player of spin, he wanted to attack Harbhajan by sweeping. But this day all he could manage was a leaning edge and Dravid took the catch in slip.
A wicket for Harbhajan. And the captain's confidence in the bowler was justified!
Munaf strikes:
After conceding the lead, getting a good start is always so very important in the second innings.
Flintoff, after doing all the hard work with the ball on a slow wicket, must have been hoping for a fine start from the openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss.
Though Irfan Pathan, maybe rejuvenated after that 52 with the bat, bowled a yard quicker, but it was Munaf to whom Cook fell.
The youngster was playing the debutant pretty well until the Indian decided to come around the wicket. He angled the ball in and then moved it away, winning a thin edge for Dhoni to catch, giving India a big hope.
Getting the taste of blood, Dravid became more attacking. He introduced Harbhajan with men around bat and pad to tease England's baby-faced soldier Ian Bell, the owner of a defensive technique and attitude with the bat, which could one day rival Dravid's.
Post-lunch session:
The new ball was taken, Flintoff (4/96) was in the middle of a hostile spell, the seventh wicket fell at 260, and yet, India took the first innings lead.
In reply to the 300 that England scored in their first innings, India managed to put together a total of 338, giving the bowlers a faint hope, but a hope nevertheless.
And that was possible because India's two primary weapons when it comes to bowling showed their contrasting talents when armed with a bat.
Before finally edging one to Jones off Flintoff, Harbhajan played all shots that you could ever hope to see in a knock of 36 (41 balls, 7 fours).
Though most of his strokes were from his own copybook, it eventually turned out to be 36 runs too many for England, as they had conceded the first innings lead.
As with the ball, Kumble (32, 77 balls, 2 fours) brought the same tenacity to the middle with the bat. His 53-run partnership with Harbhajan for the eight wickets drew cheers out of the throats of his mates in the dressing room.
Piyush Chawla (1) was the only tailender to fail and Patel (11 not out, 9 balls, 1 six, 1 four) showed he had his own way of hitting the ball hard, by staying as much away from the line of the ball as possible to hit it as long as he could.
Matthew Hoggard was hit over long off by Munaf. Now we know why it was his hitting, and not bowling, that first made him star in village cricket of Ikhar!
Pre-lunch session:
Dravid's prize on his wicket was proving to be out of the extravagant English pacemen's budget until the fickle nature of Flintoff's bowling talent and unpredictable bounce of the PCA Stadium pitch finally ended one of the finest defensive innings in recent times.
Dravid (95, 208 balls, 10 fours) played on to his stumps as the ball kept low then he expected. And with that ended his 76-run partnership with Irfan Pathan (52, 58 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) for the sixth wicket.
Flintoff struck again, this time forcing Irfan Pathan to play one to Paul Collingwood at backward point and with that another promising partnership -- 31 runs for the seventh wicket between Pathan and Anil Kumble -- was broken.
Both captains were leading from the front, but it was the Big Freddie who took lunch with a smile as India at 269/7 were still trailing by 31 runs.
Pathan's knock:
The left-hander drove Matthew Hoggard to the extra cover, telling the opponents that it was either you or me.
But Pathan also showed the defence to cope with the good balls, though Steve Harmison almost made him edge one rising ball to Geraint Jones.
But that apart, Pathan looked assured as Dravid also started opening up, glancing Andrew Flintoff, driving Plunkett, cutting Monty Panesar.
The left-arm-spinner was not the one to wilt though and pitched one on the rough, which beat Pathan's swinging bat, then the stumps and the keeper before touching the rope.
Four byes, but Pathan didn't want Monty to feel like the moral victor as next ball he hit him over the long off boundary.
It was quite a battle out there!
Dhoni's fall:
The ray of the sun broke through the clouds and Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had accepted light minutes earlier, had to come in the firing line.
But it was Dhoni (16 in 22 balls, 3 fours) who fired the first bullet, driving on the rise off Harmison to the point boundary. That remained Dhoni's only scoring shot of the day!
Harmison came back with a bouncer, the 'perfume' one, and Dhoni was desperate to save his nose and the ball kissed his gloves on its way to a delightful Jones.
Bad light:
Play started on time on Sunday, but due to bad light it was stopped after Hoggard bowled three balls to Dravid.
India resumed their first innings at 149/4 with two overnight batsmen Dravid and Dhoni.
Teams:
India: Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla.
England: Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, G Jones, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, L Plunkett, Monty Panesar.
