Kumble and Harbhajan thank Curator!

The Kanpur curator Kumar said regular Test skipper Anil Kumble, who missed the decider due to a groin injury, also came down to meet and thank him for preparing the "spinner-friendly" pitch after the match.

Off spinner Harbhajan Singh, who won the man of the series award for scalping 19 wickets, also met Kumar to praise and thank him.
However, Kumar maintained that the Green Park wicket was a sporting one and it was unfair to say that it only aided the slower bowlers.

"The South African batsmen just couldn't get used to it (the pitch) and were unsure of how the ball would behave," he said.

Earlier, the stand-in captain Dhoni sent him a personal thank you card and a cash award of Rs.10,000/-. Kumar said it was a pleasant surprise to receive appreciation from the leading cricketers!

Kanpur Curator Thanked by Dhoni with Cash!

A grateful Mahendra Singh Dhoni sent a note of thanks and Rs 10,000 to Green Park stadium's pitch curator for preparing the turning track that helped the hosts clinch the series-levelling win over South Africa in the third Test here.

Curator Shiv Kumar said he was pleasantly surprised to receive a personal note of thanks and the cash reward from the stand-in Test skipper after the hosts beat the Proteas inside three days on a crumbling pitch to level the series 1-1.

He also mentioned that though he received appreciation and cash award, the pitch was not prepared for spinners. It was a competitive wicket and it did help pace bowlers as well.

Pitch Grabbing Attention ahead of Kanput Test!

With the big flop in the 2nd test, several people complained about the pitch in Ahemedabad. With the recent rumour about the pitch being preparing favoring the home team, everyone's eye is on it.

South Africa is ready to go and demolish India one more time and clinch the series. Though the coach has praised the Indian captain Kumble's for his commendable job in Australia, he said, he is facing defeat for the first time in the home.

If India lose this series, they would also lose the opportunity to become the 2nd best Test team in the ICC ranking.

The curator has said that the pitch will help both the pace bowlers and the spinners. It will not be like Chepauk in Chennai or Ahemedabad. The Kanpur pitch will help pace bowlers for first two days and then the spinners.

With Sachin is not fit and the batting already failed and trailing the series 0-1, India should have the balanced side with enough batting and bowling.

I expect Harbhajan and Kumble to continue in the side, RP Singh to out and replaced by Ishanth Sharma. Sreesanth should be shown the gate and bring Yuvaraj into the team. This will ensure that we have Yuravaj and Pathan as two all rounders. Yuvaraj can rotate his arm for break through.

Smith and Kumble Blame the Pitch!

The skippers of both the sides blamed the Chepauk pitch for the drawn first test match in Chennai.

Probably the rain before the week of the start of the test could have hampered the conditions of the pitch. He also mentioned that the pitch did not crack or deteriorate as expected and the weather condition also added to the existing woe.

Both the captains praised the batting of Virendra Shewag. Smith said, "all credit to him for the way he played"

In the meantime, Sachin is not playing the second test due to groin injury. Kaif is his replacement.

Both the captains expect the Ahemadabad pitch to produce a result.