We lost Test on first day, says Hussain
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Your support makes all the difference.Nasser Hussain, the England captain, was left yesterday to reflect on two batting collapses against India's spin pair of Anil Kumble, whose 8 for 133 gained him the man-of-the-match award, and Harbhajan Singh, who took 7 for 110 as India won the first Test by 10 wickets inside four days here.
"I think the final session of the first day is where we lost the game," Hussain said. "That and the missed chances. We were 170 for 2 in the first innings when myself and [Graham] Thorpe were in and to be 238 all out batting first in India is shooting yourself in the foot.
"We should have scored 350 or 400 and our fielding was obviously poor. We missed chances and you cannot afford to give chances to [Rahul] Dravid, [Sachin] Tendulkar, or any of them for that matter. We did well to keep them down to two-and-a-half an over and if we had taken our chances we could have kept them down to 350.
"On actual performance or possibility of performance, with the way we bowled, our discipline, we should have been about level on first innings. And with our runs today and India batting last, you never know."
The combined performance of Harbhajan and Kumble, who claimed five wickets in an innings for the 17th time in Tests, was crucial on an excellent strip. "There was a lot of bounce and I think spinners always prefer bounce than huge turn. For Kumble and Harbhajan that is a key thing," Hussain added.
"People have talked about our bowling inexperience but we have also got it in the batting in these conditions. Only myself, Thorpe and [Marcus] Trescothick went away to Pakistan and Sri Lanka last winter. The boys are all having to learn and learn quickly."
The Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, said of his spin pair: "I think they are the best pair in international cricket at the moment. They complement each other very well."
Kumble, who recently returned with limited success to the international stage in South Africa after a year on the sidelines, said: "It's a great feeling to be among the wickets. When I injured my shoulder it was very frustrating not playing."
The India coach, John Wright, added: "It will be a confidence boost for him to know he can get back to the place where he was. In South Africa there was a lot of pressure on him while he wasn't taking wickets. To see the delight on his face when he came off the field was a great testament to how hard he has worked to get back."
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