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Kumble, Ramesh pleased with performance

Saisuresh Sivaswamy at Chepauk

The two stars of the Indian side were Anil Kumble and Sadagopan Ramesh, who excelled with the ball and bat respectively. Special satisfaction came from the fact that they shined against Pakistan.

Senior between the two and more seasoned as well, Kumble was more forthcoming in his comments. "Yes, it was immensely satisfying to perform well against Pakistan, and for me in particular, bowling to them and getting wickets was a good experience," the legspinner, who took six wickets and broke the spine of the Pakistan middle and lower order, told the media soon after day's play. This is only the second instance the Karnataka bowler has taken six wickets in an innings.

In contrast, the debutant opener from Tamil Nadu, who won the battle of wits against pacer Wasim Akram, was a lot more subdued in his comments. "Yes, it was a wonderful experience," was all he could be cornered into saying, before he added -- phew! -- that he was not permitted to speak to the media.

The swarthy, wiry bat, who is built like Ajit Agarkar, was apparently told to go in the middle, remember that he was starting out on zero, and to do something about it. By the end of play, he had reached 30, taking on Akram on the full and blunting his attack.

"I've never played a Test against Pakistan before. In fact, in the entire team, only Azhar and Sachin have the necessary experience of playing against them. So it was a special occasion," said Kumble.

The spinner said he was very pleased with the wickets he took, since otherwise the Pakistani tail could have kept wagging. Asked which was his most cherished wicket among the six he scalped on Thursday, Kumble said, "The fifth one, for obvious reasons," before walking away.