Yousuf, Kumble in war of words

Midway through the second session, as the match trudged on at a slow pace, suddenly there was some action on the field. With Pakistan...

Midway through the second session, as the match trudged on at a slow pace, suddenly there was some action on the field. With Pakistan batsmen Mohammad Yousuf and Mishab-ul-Haq settling comfortably on the pitch, the crowd, along with the Indian players, were getting frustrated. That’s when an animated Yousuf, at the start of the Irfan Pathan over, walked to the Indian captain Anil Kumble fielding at gully.

There was an angry exchange of words, apparently the reason was a provocation from Kumble. This was followed by a Yousuf complaint to umpire Simon Taufel.

Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman walked from slips and tried to pacify the agitated Pakistan batsman. Later, leg-umpire Rudi Koertzen too walked to Kumble and Yousuf and spoke to them.

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Injured Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, who is sitting out for this Test, dismissed the altercation between Kumble and Yousuf as a minor issue. “It happens all the time in cricket. So there is no need to blow the issue,” he said.

Yousuf was out on the final ball of this Pathan over as he slashed a harmless ball way outside the off in the hands of Yuvraj Singh at point. When Malik was asked if this war of words was the reason for his dismissal, he said no. “I don’t think it was the reason,” added Malik.

Scoreboard

India, 1st Innings: 626

Pakistan, 1st Innings

(overnight: 86/1)

S Butt c Kaarthick b Ganguly 68

Y Khan b Harbhajan Singh 80

M Yousuf c Yuvraj b Pathan 24

M-ul-Haq batting 54

F Iqbal c Gambhir b Sharma 22

K Akmal batting 32

Extras: (31b, 25lb, 14nb) 70

Total: (5 wkts, 117 overs) 369

Fall of wickets: 1-59, 2-149, 3-221, 4-227, 5-288

Bowling: Pathan 28-11-61-1, Sharma 23-7-88-1, Kumble 28-8-71-1, Ganguly 10-2-20-1, Harbhajan 23-6-66-1, Yuvraj 5-2-7-0

Pitch perils

•Players agree the killer ball on this pitch is the one that just doesn’t take off. Slimy surface also responsible for 70 extras

Need the Kumble-Harbhajan attack?

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•There is not enough purchase yet for the spinners on this surface. So you have to get the fast bowlers back into play a lot of times, says Sourav Ganguly

The reflections

•Day 3 in Bangalore: India 626, Pakistan 369/5

Day 3 in Kolkata: India 616, Pakistan 358/6

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