As cautious counsel prevailed and the green of the Kotla pitch yesterday gave way to the more familiar brown today, the importance of one man’s presence in the Indian team rose several notches. Anil Kumble is back on the ground where he created history with a 10 for 74, is two matches away from 100 Tests, and is raring to go.The statistics — in addition to the above, nearly 45,000 balls and 797 international wickets — sit lightly on him. Indeed, they merely give him yet another opportunity to underplay his significant contribution to the team. The 10 at Kotla he says just happens once in a lifetime, the 100 Test milestone is something he never dreamed of.Maybe it’s this modesty — or cricket’s fascination with batsmen — that has seen this Test, and the truncated match in Chennai, focused sharply on Sachin Tendulkar’s 35th. Ask him about it and his reply doesn’t reflect a victim but a man at ease with himself — and his status as India’s highest Test wicket-taker.‘‘I have no qualms about not being a high-profile star. I’ve always gone about doing my job without thinking too much about things that are not in my control. The criticism and the praise are things that I can’t change.’’Then comes the abiding truth: ‘‘I know that I have the respect of my teammates and my rivals and that’s what matters to me at the end of the day.’’For a leg-spinner whose art isn’t easily understood and effort not always appreciated, it’s no surprise that public adulation is in short supply. He doesn’t run in, hair flowing, like Shoaib Akhtar, nor is his turn as pronounced as that of Muralitharan or Shane Warne.He dismisses his low rating on the popularity charts but takes up cudgels on behalf of the bowling fraternity. It’s very much a batsmen’s game, he says, bowlers don’t get due credit. ‘‘In Tests, the batsmen do have to score runs but only if the bowlers take 20 wickets can you win games. And in ODIs the bowlers just get to bowl 10 overs while the batsmen don’t have to retire after scoring 50 runs,’’ he said.After a longish break from the game, Kumble seems ready for the action. In the Chennai Test earlier this week he was without doubt the most dangerous Indian bowler. Again, he made light of his effort. Asked about his slow pace at Chepauk, he waved off speculation that it was a significant change in bowling strategy. ‘‘Maybe it’s because I’m ageing,’’ he said.So what does the next week hold for him? He hasn’t seen the pitch so far and wouldn’t before the match day. It won’t take him long, though, to slip back into the groove; and his thoughts won’t be straying to Test No 100.Green’s gone, it’s back to brownWhen skipper Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell inspected the Ferozeshah Kotla wicket on Wednesday morning, the 22-yard strip had quite a bit of grass on it which prompted the two to nod their heads in appreciation. Thursday was a different day. Much of the grass on the wicket had been shaved off and the track had a look of ‘the old Kotla’ to it.‘‘It’s a totally batting wicket. The heavy roller has been used on it after the grass was mowed in the morning,’’ said a senior DDCA official, on condition of anonymity. However, despite the mowing there was a bit of grass left on the wicket which could be used to advantage by new-ball bowlers in New Delhi’s wintery conditions.Curator Prabir Mukherjee said, ‘‘The track would provide even bounce and the ball would come nicely to the bat to enable the batsmen to play their strokes.’’ Radheyshyam Sharma, who had worked on the wicket for the Delhi vs Mumbai Ranji Trophy match last month, said bowlers who could move the ball in the air would be successful. ‘‘It will assist spin as the match progresses.” (ENS)
