CHENNAI: India captain Anil Kumble on Sunday sharply criticised the pitch at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, saying the "flat" track made it difficult for his bowlers to force a result in the first cricket Test against South Africa.

 

"We expected the wicket to have more pace and spin. We thought it would start turning in the fourth and fifth days, but it did not. It was tough to bowl on a pitch as flat as this and in such heat," a disappointed Kumble said after the drawn match.

"Probably because of rain ahead of the Test, there was lack of preparation of the pitch. Hopefully, the wicket would be better prepared in Ahmedabad. I hope we get a result there," he said. Kumble, who did not take the field for most part of the post-lunch session due to a niggle in the bowling arm, was confident that he would be 100 per cent fit for the second Test in Ahmedabad starting on April 3.

"I did not want to take chance, so I took rest. I should be 100 per cent okay before second Test," the leg-spinner said. The Indian captain was all praise for two milestone men, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid. "The way Viru batted, it was a treat to watch. He not only batted most of the sessions, he also did most of the scoring."

Kumble also could not hide his happiness on his Karnataka team-mate Rahul Dravid joining the 10,000-run club. "He is a great player. I have the privilege to see each run he scored in his career. I am happy for him." Though disappointed at not being able to bowl the opposition out, the Indian captain praised the South Africans for denying success to the hosts.

"The South African batsmen batted extremely well and we have to sit down and plan for the next two matches," said Kumble.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith was satisfied with his team's performance and said he would take lots of positives from this Test.

"We've got some really good cricket under out belt over the last five days. Our batters had a good Test match. There are a lot of positives from this match and hopefully if we get into a good position in Ahmedabad, we can be a bit more ruthless," he said.

Smith also backed his bowlers who were treated with disdain by Virender Sehwag for most part of the India's first innings.

"I was pretty comfortable with the way we bowled. Obviously Virender (Sehwag) played a tremendous knock. Our bowlers have immense talent and they're learning to bowl in different conditions around the world," he said.

Triple centurion and man of the match Sehwag felt he would have been happier had India won the Test. "It was a good Test for me but unfortunately we couldn't win the match. We're happy with our performance," the dashing opener, who scored the fastest triple hundred, said.

"I never planned to play like that but I decided to bat the full day to make best use of this flat track. I'm happy with my effort. (Wasim) Jaffer and I started well and we capitalised on that. "I was very tired at the end of the (third) day and I thought I would go after the bowling but Dravid told me if I stay there then I can score more runs the next day."

Source : PTI