Return of Kumble boosts India for Australia clash
“I’m 100 per cent fit,” Kumble told reporters on Tuesday at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
But Kumble, who missed the second Test in Mohali due to a shoulder injury, said doubts still remained over the availability of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been suffering from a toe injury.
“He’s still not sure for the match. We just want to wait and see and, depending on his fitness, we’ll take a final call tomorrow.”
Harbhajan’s injury could open the door for leg-spinner Amit Mishra to sneak into the India squad, although Kumble stressed the importance of having the right balance in the team.
“It’s a question of keeping the balance and obviously Harbhajan is a key member of the side and we are hoping he would be fit by tomorrow morning.”
Harbhajan took three wickets in 10 balls in Mohali to set up India’s 320-run victory.
The home side lead 1-0 in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The opener in Bangalore ended in a draw.
Mishra, who played as a replacement for Kumble at Mohali, also impressed, picking up seven Australian wickets in his debut Test.
The tourists, who must win here to keep alive their chances of winning the series, were relieved at having Clark back in the squad after the bowler missed the Mohali game due to a sore elbow.
“Clark is back into the mix and [Peter] Siddle will sit out,” captain Ricky Ponting said, adding that Australia were yet to decide on their spin options, with Cameron White and the untested Jason Krejza both in the mix.
“It could be one [spinner], it could be two. Jason is definitely in the reckoning,” he said.
Ponting was concerned that the haze hanging over the skyline here owing to Diwali, the festival of lights, might have an effect during the course of the match.
“It might be an exceptional day with all the haze hanging around from the fireworks tonight.
“We will assess that as we go and if it does get to the stage where we need to do things differently to take in calculations about losing some time and some light, then we will do that to try and force a result.”
Ponting also sought to downplay Kumble’s record at the venue. The Indian captain has 55 wickets at a rate of just 15.41 in six Tests there, including 10 in a single innings against Pakistan in 1999.
“We are aware of Kumble’s record. He is a champion bowler and we know him very well. Their bowlers did a great job in the last two Tests and we know it’s not going to be easy against them.
“But we have had a good preparation and we are ready for whatever India come up with here,” Ponting said.
Ponting said Steve Waugh, his predecessor as captain, had attended training in the Indian capital on Monday and “he said he’d never seen a team train as well as we did.”
But, he warned, the strong build-up had to turn into on-field results.
“As I made clear to the guys, it’s one thing to talk about these things, it’s another thing to go out and do them under pressure in a Test,” he said.
“If we get the chance to bat first we have to start the innings better than we have in the first two games. If we bowl first we have to start our bowling innings a lot better too.
“India got the momentum early last week [in Mohali] and put us under pressure right from the start, and we were unable to claw our way back. It’s a lot about how you start here, and its how we’ve practiced the last few days.”
Since 1993 India have won seven Tests in a row at the Feroz Shah Kotla and the home side expects the pitch to suit its slow bowlers.
“Going by the record we have at the Kotla and the kind of cricket we played in Mohali, it certainly gives us a lot of confidence going into the game,” Kumble said. “We are fully confident that we will be able to win the series here.”
Teams (from):
AUSTRALIA: Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Jason Krejza.
INDIA: Anil Kumble (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Vangipurappu Laxman, Mahendra Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra.
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Billy Bowden (New Zealand).
TV umpire: Suresh Shastri (India).
Match referee: Chris Broad (England).
—Agencies