Kumble plots Pakistan downfall

CHENNAI, JAN 28: After restricting Pakistan to a poor 238 with superb bowling by leg-spinner Anil Kumble (6-70) and pacer Javagal Srinath...

CHENNAI, JAN 28: After restricting Pakistan to a poor 238 with superb bowling by leg-spinner Anil Kumble (6-70) and pacer Javagal Srinath (3-63), India replied with 48 for no loss in their first innings at stumps on the first day of the first cricket Test match at the M A Chidambaram Stadium here today.

Openers S Ramesh 30 and V V S Laxman 18 were at the wicket at close.Pakistan innings ended 33 minutes before the scheduled stumps, the new Indian opening pair of left handed Sadagopan Ramesh, making his debut for the country at his home ground, and right handed V V S Laxman took the Pakistan new ball attack spearheaded by captain Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis head on.

Even before the two come down to a line and length, Ramesh began in flourish, cover driving Waqar in the second over of the innings. In the fifth over of the innings, he square drove Wasim Akram. Much to the delight of his fans again he turned Akram to deep fine leg.

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In the penultimate over of the day Ramesh square drove Akram again to theropes.

Akram brought on off Saqlain Mushtaq at Pavilion End, taking off Waqar. But the move did not pay off.

Resuming after tea the Pakistan captain Wasim Akram and vice-captain Moin Khan could not really pull the team out of disaster. With Azhar shuffling his medium pacers and spinners around, Akram and Moin managed to push the score along. Moin went on to complete his tenth 50 in Tests. Then Pakistan posted their 200 in 64 overs in 264 minutes.

Mushtaq, who has two half centuries to his credit in Test matches, joined Akram at the wicket after Moin Khan’s departure. But after the pair added just 13 runs in four overs Kumble struck again.

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Akram scored a useful 38 in 75 minutes with a six and five fours but he could not come to his team’s rescue.

While Kumble (six) bagged five wickets in an innings in a Test for the 12th time, his Karnataka team mate and new ball spearhead Javagal Srinath had bagged 3 wickets for 63 runs and Sachin 1 for 10. Kumble had the last 4 wickets in the space of 36 balls.Only the other new ball bowler Venkatesh Prasad and Joshi went wicketless. Joshi had last played in a Test for India against the West Indies in the Caribbeans in 1997 under Sachin Tendulkar.

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan (first innings): Saeed Anwar lbw Srinath 24, Shahid Afridi c Ganguly b Srinath 11, Ijaz Ahmed lbw Kumble 13, Inzamam-ul Haq c&b Kumble 10, Yousuf Youhana lbw Tendulkar 53, Salim Malik b Srinath 8, Moin Khan c Ganguly b Kumble 60, Wasim Akram c Laxman b Kumble 38, Saqlain Mushtaq lbw Kumble 2, Waqar Younis not out 0, Nadeem Khan c Dravid b Kumble 8; extras (lb5, nb6): 11. Total (all out in 79.5 overs): 238

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-41, 3-61, 4-66, 5-91, 6-154, 7-214, 8-227, 9-237, 10-238.

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Bowling: Srinath 15-3-63-3, Prasad 16-1-54-0, Kumble 24.5-7-70-6, Joshi 21-8-36-0, Tendulkar 3-0-10-1.