Ask Anil Kumble what gets a batsman out and his reply will be swift and sure: Pressure. Today, he put his precept into practice to bring Sri Lanka down from their commanding position.About an hour’s play remained on the second day and the mood at Kotla was in total contrast to the final session on Day One. Sri Lanka were 175/2 with Mahela Jayawardene and Marvan Atapattu having already compiled a partnership of 113 runs. India’s target of 290 seemed an easily surmountable target.Then came India’s window of opportunity as Jayawardene was out lbw sweeping Kumble. The giant screen said it was Kumble’s 50th Lankan Test wicket but the leggie was busy working on the ball, getting ready to bowl to the next batsman Samaraweera.Sachin Tendulkar, fielding at mid-on, drew Kumble’s attention to the achievement being displayed larger than life but the leggie just laughed it off and went about the job at hand.And how! His next 36 balls — six overs — included 34 dot balls and three wickets. By the time he’d finished, India’s fortunes had taken a turn — a far bigger turn, indeed, than Kumble could manage on this batting friendly track.What it required of Kumble was patience, and drawing on the experience of all previous 98 Tests, especially when Jayawardene and Atapattu were in flow. For 15 overs Kumble went wicketless, before he had Jayawardene with a straighter ball.Except for Samaraweera the other three wickets that Kumble got were from balls that didn’t actually turn much. Samaraweera’s dismissal was a visual delight — ball pitched on middle and leg, hitting the off stump and leaving the batsman foxed — but his wicket of Atapattu on the final ball of the day was the most significant.India were desperate for a wicket. After a detailed discussion with Dravid, Kumble asked Gautam Gambhir to move square leg to forward short-leg. A fastish ball jumped, took the inside edge, hit the pad and popped up to Gambhir. The booby trap had worked and it was tough to spot who between Kumble and Dravid had the bigger smile.
