It may sometimes sound biased, but if you look at the whole picture it is true. I feel it is utterly disgusting to classify Anil Kumble as a leg spinner. My younger brother probably imparts more spin to the red cherry than Kumble. Medium pacer, yes that would be Kumble. And a very good one at that. I mean an average bowler does not take 10 wickets in an innings.
But the consistent failure of Kumble abroad must be taken into consideration. England in 96 was an embarrasment. Hick and Thorpe battered him all over the park.
And I am sure he will repeat his lacklusture performance in SA.
Coming to the batsmen, we all know the 27 all out at Kingsmead. Dravid was the only saving grace. Indian players are predominantly front foot players. Dancing down the pitch hammering the ball are ingrained in them. But conditions in SA are different. Hard and bouncy tracks prevent the batsmen from doing so.
At all times batsmen have to be on the back foot and play the hooks and pull.
Last trip saw sucess for Sachin, Dravid and Azhar.
Sachin and Dravid are sure to perform but what about Ganguly?
Ganguly is so much a front foot player. He loves to get to the pitch of the ball. I doubt Pollock will let him do that this time.
Next week we will analyze Ganguly and see what we feel are his prospects of success.
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