© CricInfo

© CricInfo

© CricInfo

A marauder at home

Anil Kumble is back with a bang, taking wickets in plenty and helping India win as he has done over so many years. Kumble has been the spearhead of the Indian bowling for a long while now; he has also been fighting a shoulder injury, which kept him out of action for more than a year. He made his comeback to international cricket in South Africa and did not have much success.

Kumble is a different bowler in India, where the pitch offers him some help. India took on England at Mohali in the first Test, and Kumble had his big opportunity to revive his Test career. On a greenish pitch that offered little assistance, Kumble finished with the figures of 19-6-52-2 in the first innings. By the close of the first day's play, he was also sent in as night-watchman after the fall of the first wicket; he held on bravely and, on the second morning, applied himself well to make 37 runs off 86 balls. Kumble's defiant knock included half a dozen boundaries and, along with Deep Dasgupta, added 53 runs for the second wicket.

The pro was at his lethal best in the England second innings, though, destroying the batting with figures of 28.4-6-81-6, spurring India to a 10-wicket win. His prized scalps included that of Nasser Hussain, Mark Ramprakash, Graham Thorpe and Andrew Flintoff. It was Kumble's 17th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and a match-winning one at that; there were no other contenders for the Man of the Match award. The interesting point to note is that Kumble has added a new weapon to his arsenal: the googly that bounces more. Most of the English batsmen had trouble in picking this new delivery, which left them virtually bamboozled.

After the success at Mohali, Kumble performed an encore, rocking England at Motera in Ahmedabad. On the first day of the second Test, Kumble snuffed out the first five English wickets. He went on to pick two more to finish with the figures of 51-13-115-7 in the first innings. It was truly a remarkable performance by the leg-spinner, given the fact that Harbhajan Singh was not having a good time with the ball. Kumble's marathon spells have also assured his fans that he is completely fit and that he is one bowler who can still be relied upon.

Kumble now has 18 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and is on 296 Test wickets. He might well achieve the magical 300 mark in the English second innings at Motera, but his feats so far this series have been enough to ensure him of our Player of the Fortnight honour.