Bowled over

Kumble spins India to 10-wicket win over England

England captain Nasser Hussain is bowled out as India's Vangipurappu Laxman looks on. AP

MOHALI, India (AP) -- India cantered to a rousing 10-wicket victory over England in the northern city of Mohali on Thursday after leg-spinner Anil Kumble's deadly spell ripped open the English defenses.

Kumble claimed six wickets for 81 runs to bundle England out for 235 in the second knock.

India, which led by 231 runs in the first innings, got the five runs required for victory in two balls, through Iqbal Siddiqui, to secure a 1-0 lead in the three-test series.

Kumble executed the knockout blow with his fastish leg-breaks that caused havoc as England's batsmen failed to decipher his googly.

Skipper Nasser Hussain, Mark Ramprakash, Andrew Flintoff, James Ormond and Richard Dawson fell in a heap in a deadly spell from Kumble, who also induced a return catch from top-scorer Graham Thorpe.

This was the 17th time Kumble had bagged five wickets in a test innings, taking his tally to 289 wickets. Only Kapil Dev with 434 wickets has taken more wickets than Kumble.

Despite spending a year convalescing from a shoulder surgery, Kumble on Thursday proved his bowling had lost none of its bite.

"It was tough to sit on the sideline for one year .... It's great to be back," said Kumble after receiving his Man of the Match award.

Kumble proved that England's batsmen had not figured him out in spite of his turning out for Leicestershire and Northamptonshire in the English county championship in recent years.

The lethal leg-spinner, who does not claim to be a prodigious turner of the ball, also highlighted his potent threat on India's spin-aiding tracks despite not being too successful on the recent tour of South Africa.

England's tentative batsmen, with the exception of left hander Thorpe, failed to come to terms with India's double spin attack of Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, who between them shared eight scalps on Thursday.

Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said the victory was a "wonderful present from Kumble and Harbhajan."

"They're the best pair in the world when they bowl in tandem," Ganguly said, adding that this victory had raised visions of repeating the 3-0 win that Indian clinched in 1993 on England's last visit to the country.

"It's great to begin on a winning note and I think a 3-0 win is a possibility," Ganguly said. "But we've just won one test .... The series is still open."

India's coach John Wright said England "had the potential to bounce back."

"It's dangerous to think of a 3-0 blanking at the moment," Wright said.

England's captain Nasser Hussain said his batsmen had "some work to do."

"We need to use our heads when we bat," Thorpe said, hoping that the batsmen would be able to turn things around in the second test at Ahmadabad on Dec. 11-15.

The redeeming feature of England's second knock was Thorpe's defiant 175-minute knock of 62, which contained eight boundaries from 121 balls faced.

Standing at the non-striker's end, Thorpe became a mute witness to England's second batting collapse of the match.

Off-spinner Singh finished with two wickets for 59 runs and medium-pacer Tinu Yohannan two for 56.

England's miseries began against debutante medium-pacer Yohannan, who made two early breakthroughs by dismissing the opening duo of Mark Butcher and Mascus Trescothick in quick succession.

India seemed on course for only its fourth innings victory over England when Kumble reduced it to 224 for nine, but Dawson threw his bat around for 11 runs to force India to bat again.

Controversial Sehwag named for second test

"Sehwag will replace Jacob Martin in the 14 for the second test," India's chief selector Chandu Borde told reporters after a meeting of selectors in the wake of India's 10-wicket win over England inside four days in the series opener.

Sehwag's one-match suspension was central to the Indian cricket board's dispute with the International Cricket Council, which threatened to derail England's tour.

The Indian board insisted Sehwag had served his one-match ban during the third test of the series against South Africa. It defied the ICC's directive to omit him from the first test's squad, until a late solution saved the series.

Sehwag's suspension was carried over to the first test in the northern Indian city of Mohali, but the Indian board allowed him to stay put and train with the squad.

Recalling Sehwag for Martin, who was summoned as a late replacement for Sehwag in Mohali, is one of the two changes made in the winning squad.

Injured all-rounder Sanjay Bangar, ruled out of the series due to a pulled hamstring, has made way for pace spearhead Javagal Srinath.

Srinath on Thursday informed the Indian cricket board of his fitness from a fractured left hand.

Borde said Srinath had contacted the cricket board on return from South Africa, where he was consulting a doctor,

"He's intimated the board that he is fit to play the second test," Borde said.

Indian squad: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Shiv Sundar Das, Deep Dasgupta, Connor Williams, Vangipurappu Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Tinu Yohannan, Sarandeep Singh and Iqbal Siddiqui.

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