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Kumble's hunting ground
Wisden CricInfo staff - February 27, 2002
Twenty-six Test matches have been played at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. Ominously for Zimbabwe, India haven't lost since Viv Richards's West Indies won by five wickets in 1987-88. The pitch at the Kotla epitomizes the quintessential Indian surface: a flat-track bully's dream (Vinod Kambli made 227 against Zimbabwe in 1993), it starts detereorating by the third day, after which spinners generally have a ball.
Anil Kumble's perfect-ten came at the Kotla against Pakistan in 1998-99. In fact, in three Tests at the Kotla, Kumble already has 31 wickets at an average of 13.5. India's spin quartet of the 60s and 70s enjoyed bowling here too. S Venkataraghavan took 12 for 152 in his first Test here in 1965, and Bishan Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna took 18 of the 20 wickets that fell in India's seven-wicket victory over Australia in 1969-70.
On a pitch where the ball can often keep low and early morning dew can be a factor, pace bowlers have also enjoyed some success here. John Lever took a ten-for here in 1976, and the last time India played here, against Zimbabwe, Javagal Srinath took 9 for 141, including 5 for 60 in the second innings where he removed both Zimbabwe openers for ducks in a destructive new-ball spell.
Every side winning the toss here has opted to bat first. Stands to reason – in the first couple of days, before the pitch starts deteriorating, it tends to be a good pitch to bat on. Nine of India's 13 wins here, however, have come batting second, which suggests that ultimately, it is the spinners who make the difference.
Many batting milestones have been reached at the Kotla. In 1981-82, Geoff Boycott overtook Garry Sobers to become the highest run-scorer in Test history (aggregate). Two years later, Sunil Gavaskar scored his 29th Test century here, to equal Don Bradman's record. More recently, though not as significantly, Rahul Dravid made his only Test double-century the last time India and Zimbabwe met on this ground, in late 2000.
Sachin Tendulkar has a mixed record on this ground. He made a hundred against the Zims in his last Test here, but otherwise aggregates 268 in his four matches here at an average of 38.2 – a full 20 points below his now-burgeoning career average.
Dravid and Sourav Ganguly have somewhat better records here. Dravid has 372 at an average of 93, and Ganguly has 254 at 84.6, an average helped by the fact that he has yet to be dismissed in India's second innings on this ground.
But the one batsman who really loves this ground is Andy Flower. He's played only twice here, and conjured up 430 runs with an average of 215. He is the only batsman in the current Zimbabwe team to average over 30 in Test cricket (an outstanding 52.44).
Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.
© Wisden CricInfo Ltd
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