Impressed with Anil Kumble's captaincy

[King]

It was good captaincy by Anil Kumble yesterday. Neither was he far too aggressive in field setting or was he too passive. Anil struck enough balance in setting the field. He employed good field set for Gilly and Symonds. A good in-out field set up he had when both were going really well. There's no shame in giving your bowler a cover as long as you are giving him few catches. The bowlers responded well enough to bowl consistent lines just right for the field set. Rahul Dravid I thought used to over attack while he was captain. He used to get a bit too carried away. This is the difference between a bowler captain and a batsman captain. Bowlers never like to give runs away and it was demonstrated well yesterday. A batsman captain usually does not think like a bowler and ends up setting a very aggresive field which can allow the opponents to get away with few big hits. The bowlers supported the captain really well yesterday by sticking to a line. Bowling changes were fantastic too I thought. He didn't quite over bowl anyone and that meant the bowlers were pretty fresh. Sure the Aussies hardly batted enough overs but I thought the mix of attack was pretty good to see. It would have been easy for Anil to throw the ball to Ishant and ask him to bowl to Gilly and Symmo for a longer duration or even to the tail as RP had only taken a wicket till then but it was a good move to bring RP back rather than Ishant. RP used the angles from over and around the wickets quite well.

[arkay]

In this match, I think he has been pretty good so far: * The first one decision - which was a bold one was to bat first. That showed a lot of guts considering ozzies had 4 pace bowlers * The second decision - Open the bowling with Pathan instead of Ishant which was a very well thought move because Pathan can certainly swing the ball when the ball is new. The best chance of taking wickets from Pathan was during the initial spell. * The third decision - Sending Pathan as night watchman. This is a calculated risk that Kumble has taken. If Pathan survives the first hour - while doing so he plays some shots it will certainly put ozzies in the defensive. Ozzies would be in dilemma whether to attack or to defend. Only time will tell how this decision plays out. If Pathan & Sehwag get a good partnership going, both the players can seize the initiative and play aggressively which would put ozzies at a disadvantage.

[DesiChap]

His field setting for Ponting was gold. He had a short mid off and short midwicket for Ponting pretty much daring Ponting and cutting off Ponting's leg side shots where he tends to play in the air. Sending Irfan Pathan was great. If Pathan can stayn for an hout the left right combo will surely hurt the Aussie bowlers.

[kooljatt]

He is a legend....Given the task of leading the county in the autumn of his career, Kumble has brought the same dignity and competitiveness that have distinguished him as a player.