da 888casino： Peter English and Siddhartha Vaidyanathan present the remarkable events of the first day of the first Test between Australia and India at the MCG
da apostebet： Cricinfo staff26-Dec-2007
Turning his arm and turning over the Australians, Anil Kumble arrived at the MCG with a bang © Getty Images
Turning the momentum
Touring captains usually arrive in Australia under pressure but it was AnilKumble who applied it to the home side on day one. Australia’s openersreached 135 when Kumble unbalanced Phil Jaques with a wrong’un that thebatsman didn’t spot before achieving something unthinkable by out-classingMichael Hussey with a similar delivery. Talk in Australia prior to the Testcentred around how the Indians would react to Brad Hogg’s variations, butKumble created the immediate problems, taking three batsmen with googliesand two with legspinners.Beware of the captain
It took a sublime 144 from Sourav Ganguly, their captain, to revive India onthe last trip in 2003-04. This time it was again their leader dealing theopening blow with five wickets. It was the second time Kumble earned a spoton the honours board at the MCG, emulating Bhagwat Chandrasekar, hisstate-mate, who also claimed five in an innings twice.Hogg’s happy holidays
Boxing Day looked as if still Christmas for Hogg. As he sung thenational anthem, Hogg could not stop smiling at the thought of playing hisfirst Test since 2003. He, however, had to wait for action and after Australiaelected to bat, he settled down with a book in the first session. Hogg was calledlater in the day, made 17, and is looking forward to bowling into thefootmarks that will grow from the work of the game’s large contingent ofleft-armers.Everywhere man
It seems impossible, but Shane Warne may have increased his presence at theMCG since last year’s Boxing Day when he took his 700th wicket in his finalTest on his home ground. Twelve months later, he is donating items to theMelbourne Cricket Club in the morning, playing with the schoolchildren onthe oval at lunch, being appointed to a leadership role with CricketAustralia and completing a stint in the Nine commentary box. But thatwasn’t all. Cartoon figures of Warne are shown on the sight-screen and thescoreboard promoting a beer company, so he can’t escape even if he doesn’tturn up for the rest of the game.He’s not a Victorian
After having Warne to cheer for the past 15 years, Melbourne supporters wereleft without a local to celebrate and had to adopt. Ricky Ponting and AndrewSymonds received the greatest roars from the crowd of 68,465 when theywalked out to bat, but there was also loud support for each Indian wicketand the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar for his over before tea.Curator escapes a sledge
Concerns have been raised over the MCG’s drop-in pitches following dreary domestic games this season and Matthew Hayden spent a lot of time talking about the surface at stumps. However, he wasn’t complaining too loudly and when asked if he thought the wicket was Test standard he said: “It’s hard to argue with that when I’ve got six hundreds on it. I’d be a game man to sledge the curator.”
