
FOR MORE THAN a decade now, Anil Kumble has earned his living bowling on unhelpul surfaces just like the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch for the first Test between India and Pakistan. He has been a source of delight for his skippers. Now it is Kumble himself who is handling the reign of the team and on day three of this enthralling Test, he once again took up the responsibility at his favourite haunt, to end with figures of 3 for 55. His superb spell in the post tea session nullified the advantage that Pakistan had built up over the first two sessions. Post tea, Kumble bowled 14 overs for 36 runs and pickde up the wickets of Salman Butt for 67 and Younis Khan for 23 to bring India back into the match. The story could have been even better had Wasim Jaffer not dropped Misbah-ul-Haq at short-leg for one with the score reading 162 for 5. Pakistan ended the day on 212 for 5, already 167 runs ahead of the Indians after conceding a 45-run first innings lead. The captain was complemented well by offspinner Harbhajan Singh, who picked up the wickets of in-form Mohammad Yousuf and Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik in the final session of play. But it was the in-form Misbah, coming down at no 7, who evened out the match with some attacking strokeplay. Misbah was unbeaten on 29 off 34 balls with two huge sixes off Harbhajan and a four, while wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was giving him company on 21 off 53. “The Misbah drop was very crucial. We were building up pressure and had the catch been taken, we could have bowled them out by evening,” Harbhajan said after the day’s play.
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