-
Related
The curator of the Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground has declared his hand a week ahead of the third India-Australia Test, saying a cracked and spinning surface will be his "parting gift" to Anil Kumble.
In the latest piece of bad news for an Australian team still struggling to come to terms with their 320-run hiding in Mohali, Delhi curator Radhey Shyam Sharma said he was preparing a surface tailored to the needs of Kumble, who is likely to return to captain India following his absence from the second Test due to a shoulder problem.
"This will be my parting gift to Kumble," Sharma told the Indian Express.
"I've always made wickets that suit Kumble and this time won't be any different.
"This wicket against Australia will give some assistance to seamers initially but the spinners can come into play as early as the third morning.
"There will be no dust on the wicket but the ball will tend to grip on the pitch and get more turn. There'll be a bit of uneven bounce with the wear and tear."
Sharma has enjoyed an exceptionally close relationship with Kumble over the years.
His first Test as curator at the ground was Australia's heavy 1996 defeat in a one-off match on a tinder-dry surface that Kumble exploited to the full.
In 1999, Sharma was said to have argued with Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin to allow Kumble to bowl from the ground's pavilion end, an action that hurried the bowler on his way to the
incredible second innings figures of 10-74 against Pakistan.
"There's no way he will miss that match," Sharma said of Kumble.
"This venue is very special to him and he'll play come what may."
Being made to look almost obsolete by the two men who replaced him did not stop Kumble from showering the highest praise on his team for their record second Test win.
Stand-in captain Mahendra Dhoni was a popular choice as man-of-the-match after leading the side with great panache and also adding a batting double of 92 and 68no.
Debutant legspinner Amit Mishra bowled with maturity and guile unbecoming of a first gamer, his seven wickets for the match exposing an Australian weakness against classical legspin - far removed from the unorthodox ways of Kumble.
"While I always thought our batters coming good was a matter of time, to bowl like this consistently is heartwarming," Kumble wrote in the Hindustan Times.
"That's the wonderful nature of this Test, it was such a team effort.
"Our bowlers were able to swing the ball, theirs struggled to.
"Our batters hung in there, theirs folded.
"It was very heartening to see MS Dhoni lead from the front and it was fantastic to watch the way the team approached the game and the intensity we kept up throughout.
"And while I unfortunately had to sit this one out, I'm raring to get going at the Kotla, my favourite Test centre."
