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Wicketless Kumble Confident of Winning Series

bangalore - Though Team India skipper Anil Kumble went wicketless in the first Test match against Australia, he must be relieved from the fact that India managed to salvage an honourable draw.

Kumble, who bowled only eight overs in the second innings, had stayed away from the field for the better part of the fourth day since he was nursing a shoulder injury. “Shoulder is feeling better. But three more days before the next Test and we will monitor it closely,” he said.

Dejected for not having picked up a wicket in this match, he said: “It would have been nice if I had picked up wickets and may be we would have won the Test match. With me not putting the hand up, the other members have played their part well.

“But I think as a captain I have played my part and if I come in as a player we will win the series. That is what I am looking into to come in as a player. One match will not make a player a bad player.” Kumble certainly felt that a win in the home ground would have been the best result.

“We would have loved to win the game. But the way the game went after losing the toss on a pitch was unpredictable. The pitch cracked up as the game progressed and we really fought our way back. Zak (Zaheer Khan) and Harbhajan brought us back into the game. But certainly for the first Test of the series I am pretty satisfied.”

Noting that a good start in the second innings could have changed the complexion of the game, Kumble said: “If we had got a good start we would have surely gone for the target and put pressure on them. But that did not happen, we lost two early wickets and that put us a bit back. But if Sehwag and Gambhir had got the same start as they had got in the first innings we would have certainly gone after the target.

“We had a chance yesterday and if we had got the wickets of Haddin and Watson we were looking to finish things off. Things would have been different, If I had taken that catch in the morning today.”

Brimming with confidence of winning the second Test and the series, Kumble said:

“Overall in the first Test of the series, all of us had reasonable start and our batters had a good outing. We are going as a team and confident of winning the Test match and the series. That is what we will be looking to do.”