Kumble finally gets his due

Peter Roebuck pays tribute to Anil Kumble in the Sydney Morning Herald, and says in hindsight India will question its delay in appreciating its champion cricketer.

In so many ways Kumble has been the rock of the team, a constant in the raging seas of life. He has been a Churchillian bowler, prepared to fight them on the beaches and on the fields and never to give up.

Few men have so far outstripped the natural resources assigned to them in their early days. But sport has always been inclined to mistake style for ability, show for substance.

In the same paper, Chloe Saltau says that "[Ishant] Sharma, with his heavy bling and natural physical gifts, could be a megastar in cricket-mad India".

Greg Baum writes in the Age, "three young Indian quicks who are all younger than Australia's youngest and had never set foot in Perth previously, exploited the local conditions better than the Australians. This as much as the result will exercise Australian minds; it hints at decline."

Meanwhile, in the Daily Telegraph, Robert Craddock says that Australian fans must get used to the occasional loss.