Bangalore Test, Day 2
Thursday, December 20, 2001

Anil Kumble kicked the boundary rope at third man and looked down at his perfectly white cricket boots. He had a big white napkin tucked into his high-waisted trousers, but he didn't have any opportunity to wipe the smile off England's faces. Or to break into a grin himself. The mouth beneath the moustache remained tight-lipped.

That big wicket at his home ground - his 300th - should have been a foregone conclusion after 18 wickets in the first two Tests, but it was stubbornly refusing to come. Over after over of that purposeful stride to the crease, that economical action and bare flick of the wrist had brought nothing more than an outlay of 74 runs. He didn't even get the satisfaction of snaring his bunny, Andrew Flintoff, yesterday. The man who has a Bangalore junction named after him had spent four sessions finding dead-ends.

After all the hype, waiting for Kumble had become waiting for Godot - cold, distracting and to be honest a little boring. His mother, who spent yesterday here glowing with anticipatory pride for the TV cameras, was unable to make it today. Even his team-mates looked fed-up. The biggest thrill of the morning was Rahul Dravid at slip clicking his fingers in time with the drums of the crowd.

There was a spasm of animation when Ashley Giles, on 8, edged onto his boot and the ball obediently looped to SS Das at short leg. Kumble turned, the crowd, temporarily woken from their slumbers roared, but umpire Jayaprakash didn't move a muscle.

So thousands of eyes returned to drooping under greying skies. Kumble was taken off after seven unproductive overs, and the crowd gave up shouting his name and turned to their lunch. It was practically sacrilegous - Kumble had been forgotten.

Except by Sourav Ganguly, who stripped off his pantomime-villain outfit in the afternoon session. After James Foster and Ashley Giles had been out to consecutive balls, he banished Sarandeep Singh from the pavilion end and replaced him with Kumble. Kumble v Hoggard, surely now …

The third ball was fired in, Hoggard prodded at it but his legs were glued to the crease, and the line of the stumps. Jayaprakash wasn't going to turn this one down - not to the man who has given him a claim to fame with that ten-for at Delhi. Kumble was practically swallowed up by his team-mates who ran to high-five him and he shyly walked through a guard of honour, doffing his cap. He is the fourth spinner, the second Indian and the third man, eventually, to reach 300 at his home ground, after Allan Donald and Curtly Ambrose.

Tanya Aldred, our assistant editor, is covering the whole tour for Wisden.com.

More Roving Reporter
The blue-eyed nearly boy

Shades one minute, jumpers the next

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd