Back home, Munaf on song

In a game of constantly changing fortunes, Rest of India captain Anil Kumble moved from having plenty of problems...

In a game of constantly changing fortunes, Rest of India captain Anil Kumble moved from having plenty of problems to problems of plenty. Munaf Patel8217;s picture right deadly spell of accurate pace bowling saw Delhi getting dismissed for 177, giving Rest of India a vital 75-run lead, and with Rahul Dravid 34 and S Badrinath 33 still there at stumps with the score reading 90/1, Delhi seemed to have lost their grip on the game. But it8217;s not just the match situation that would have delighted the Rest of India skipper. Even the 8216;India captain8217; in Kumble would have had a big smile on his face. Munaf8217;s 8216;9-0-31-4 show8217; means Kumble8217;s pace options have increased after Ishant Sharma8217;s tidy spell on Wednesday.

Munaf was on the bench all through the three-Test series in Sri Lanka, but his impressive show in the subsequent ODIs and now the Irani Cup tie means it will be tough to keep him out of the playing XI in the Tests. But with neither Zaheer Khan nor Ishant putting a step wrong, Kumble will have a few tough calls to make ahead of the opening Test 8212; both with regard to personnel whom to play and combination four bowlers or five.

Eventually, it might be the state of the pitch at Bangalore that is the deciding factor, but Munaf8217;s four wickets on a docile track showed that he doesn8217;t quite need pace-friendly conditions to fire.

He didn8217;t get the new ball on Thursday, but he was quite charged up when he came in to bowl. Mohammad Kaif8217;s brilliant one-handed diving catch in the slips to dismiss in-form Delhi opener Aakash Chopra was the trigger Munaf needed. This early wicket meant his bowling had more bite but wasn8217;t quite carried away as his off-stump never faltered.

Special performance

From the time Munaf landed at the IPCL Stadium a few days back, there was something about him that showed he was in for a special performance.

After drifting to Mumbai and Maharashtra, Munaf has moved to Baroda for this domestic season. It was a sentimental move since Baroda happens to be the place where, many years back, Munaf walked on to a cricket ground with big dreams and a pair of slippers, after making the trek from his village in Ikhar.

It has been a 8216;return of the prodigal8217; kind of reception that Munaf has got here. His every wicket has been appreciated noisily by the local crowd while his smooth run-up ends with a crescendo of claps and cries.

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Former Baroda Ranji pacer Mukesh Narula, who has seen the early days of Munaf, is delighted to see the pacer back in familiar territory. 8220;It is good that he is back in Baroda. Such bowlers need to be given full freedom 8212; give them the freedom to express themselves and only then will you get results from them,8221; he said.

Not just Narula, even those in the rival dressing room were singing Munaf8217;s praise. Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya calls Munaf8217;s four-wicket effort outstanding. 8220;The best part was his in-swing and the length at which he bowled,8221; he said.

Besides Munaf, there were other significant bowling performances today. Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Kumble took a couple of wickets each as Delhi lost their way after a good stand between Chopra and Virender Sehwag in the morning.

The Delhi bowlers failed to repeat their first innings show as Dravid and Badrinath consolidated after Wasim Jaffer8217;s early loss. But in this game of ever-changing odds, nothing is predictable. The only thing that can be said with certainty today was the fact that Munaf finally seems to be getting his act together. The enigmatic pacer, who has had several fitness and attitude issues in the past, is no longer that frustrating mystery.