A wet start for the Indian trio

The exploits of the three musketeers from India in England is being keenly watched by Indian fans the world over. Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble are getting exposed to the English county this season through Lancashire, Kent and Leicestershire respectively. For Dravid and Ganguly its their first stint in English county whereas Kumble has already played for Northamptonshire earlier in 1995.

Karnataka's Dravid and Kumble opted out of the semifinal against Hyderabad to play for their respective counties. Before leaving Indian shores Ganguly, Kumble and Dravid had expressed that the stint in the county would do them a world of good.

So far the weather has been wet and most of the matches have been washed out. The three Indian stars have had a mixed season. While Dravid is in fine touch and Kumble fairly consistent, Indian captain Ganguly hasn't got to terms with the conditions yet.

Sourav Ganguly has so far played 6 limited over matches and two 4-day matches. Lancashire have won 3 of their 6 limited over matches and tied one. Having a tremendous international record in England one expected Ganguly to have a good run. But so far the stylish left hander has not lived up to his reputation.

The 'King of Calcutta' it seems is slowly getting to terms with the conditions. His innings of 61 helped Lancashire tie their match against Leicestershire. Apart from this performance it has been a poor run with the bat so far. In 8 outings Ganguly has averaged just 20.5

Inspite of his poor form Ganguly secured a man of the match award against Durham for his spell where he picked up 3 wickets in 2 overs and remained unbeaten on 22 off just 18 deliveries.

One of the better stories this season has been India's sheet anchor Rahul Dravid. The Karnataka player has had a rainy start to his county stint with 4 of the 6 limited over matches abandoned due to rain. Kent won against Middlesex and lost to Essex. His match against Lancashire was washed out.

Kent won over the touring Zimbabweans mainly because of Dravid's splendid 182. His innings was studded with 27 hits to the fence and he was particularly relentless on Mluleki Nkala and Neil c. Kent were struggling at 11/3 when Dravid started taking control of the match and he got good sustenance from the Kent middle order.

The 10-wicket Indian bowler, Anil Kumble has also had a start at the England county which cannot be termed as depressing. Leicestershire has won just one match out of the 7 limited over matches they have been scheduled. Kumble has so far picked up nine wickets in the Benson and Hedges games and five wickets in the PPP county championship.

Kumble's first match against Derbyshire was abandoned and he hardly got to bowl in the match. In his next game against Durham, the leg spinner picked up 3/26 and helped his side to a victory.

Leics has so far featured in two tied matches with Sussex and Lancashire within a week. Though Kumble went wicketless, he helped his team put pressure on the batsmen and has been miserly. In between these nailbiting limited over matches, Leics also have played two 4- day matches. They lost against Lancashire and managed a draw against Derbyshire. In both the matches, Kumble got the opportunity to bowl only once. He bagged 3 wickets in the drawn match and 2 in the match they lost to Lancashire for which his Indian captain plays. With cricket fans in India eagerly following their compatriots the interest in the performance of the trio can only increase.