Hats off to Captain Kumble

Let me begin by congratulating Anil Kumble for winning his very first one-day match as India captain. Credit should go to Kumble as he proved that he is capable of handling the pressure that comes with being the Indian captain. Well done, Kumble and keep it up! India going 2-1 up in the ODI series means the pressure will now be on Hussain and his team to do well in the remaining three games.

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I had hoped that England would put up a big score after electing to bat first. Their performance on the day though was disappointing, coming as it did after their fine showing in Kolkata and Cuttack. Perhaps the disappointing shot that saw Hussain getting out was an indicator of the over confidence that the England players carried to the batting crease.

England also has very serious problems with the continued failures of Andrew Flintoff with the bat. He seems to have lost confidence in his ability to strike the ball freely and that puts his team in a very tight spot. Flintoff's position is a very crucial one and it is imperative that he starts scoring, if England are to make a strong comeback in the series.

One bright aspect to emerge from this match for India is the welcome return to form of Ajit Agarkar; he bowled exceedingly well to pick up four wickets. I think Agarkar has at last realised that he is primarily a fast bowler and whatever runs he can score is just a bonus to the team.

Moving to the Indian innings, I thought Virender Sehwag combined very well with Sachin Tendulkar. It was their opening stand that helped India get past a modest target. It is not a secret that the much-famed Indian batting line up can make heavy weather of chasing low scores. I believe that Sehwag should continue to open with Tendulkar, and Ganguly should drop himself down the order.

A few months back I had mentioned that the selectors should give a wake up call to a few players who had been under-performing. They have done it by finally dropping VVS Laxman from the rest of the ODI series. Laxman has been going through a very bad patch and this `shock treatment' should serve its purpose. It is also a stern warning to other players that they should not take their place in the team for granted.

The player who will replace Laxman in the team is Mohammad Kaif. It remains to be seen whether he will actually get to play or not. I felt that the selectors should have persevered with him, not dropped him after the tour of Sri Lanka.

It is good to see that the games played so far have been played in the right spirit. There have been no instances of sledging and full credit should go to Hussain and his team. The Englishmen have taken this series to learn and prepare for the World Cup in 2003, which is a very good thing to do.

On the other hand, India's preparation for the World Cup has not been all that smooth. For instance, India's senior most fast bowler is not getting any younger. Even though he is a great asset in Test matches, in the shorter version of the game he is found wanting on the field.

The next match at Kanpur should be a thriller, as England can settle for nothing less than a win to keep the series alive. Sourav Ganguly should be back for the next match to lead his team and seal the series for India.