Kumble is the Kohinoor in the Indian crown

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Undated (UNI) It seems the inclement weather, which continued to play cruel truant had a role in England's nine-wicket defeat against India in the second Test at Mohali. There is little that can be done to combat the vagaries of weather. Smaller mercy then that after two days of playing hide-and-seek with the sun, last three days saw some dour cricket.

Time constraint kept all the flamboyant antics out of reach, almost. England's low score of 300 in the first innings was responded with equal marksmanship by the Indian batsmen. The Indian captain alone played the role of defiance in keeping with his nickname ''The Wall''. The rest of the top order were lulled into somewhat of a complacency by the gloomy weather.

A lead of barely 38 runs was not sufficient by any standards to enforce the tourists to go off the backfoot. But the Indians had one gem -- Kumble -- to bank heavily upon. After he crossed the monumental milestone of 500 Test wickets, there was a visibly fresh spring in Kumble's heels.

India's new discovery Munaf Patel is an outstanding investment.

He is fast, straight and very smooth in his approach to the wicket.

With barest minimum effort, Munaf is easily the quickest of the new breed of fast trundlers. Hope the youngster will last in Indian cricket and without any serious injuries.

The other debutante, Piyush Chawla, has a long way to go before he belongs to the Test match special. I don't wish to be too harsh to the UP leggie, but seriously for his own good he must discover the leg-spinner as a match winning delivery. He seems to rely too much on the top-spinner and the googly which is alright for junior cricket. The gap between his own wiles and requirements of Test cricket is too big. It has to be bridged before he gets the full feel of Test cricket again. For now Piyush can feel happy that he has finished on the winning side.

More UNI XC PM AY DS1335

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