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JUmbo show: Anil Kumble celebrates one of his 10 wickets against Pakistan at the Kotla, Delhi during their 1999 Test series. Kumble became only the second man in history, after Jim Laker, to pick up all ten wickets in a Test innings and ended up with figures of 10-74.

NEW DELHI: History may not repeat itself for Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble at the Kotla here when India face the visiting Pakistanis in the first Test on November 22. “Yes, I had prepared the pitch when Kumble took the record 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan. But he will not be able to repeat the feat when the two teams meet again in the first Test of the current series,” said Radhe Shyam Sharma, who has been looking after the Kotla for decades. Sharma continued, “This pitch is different. It is very grassy and a green top. It is going to assist the new ball bowlers.”   Radhe Shyam Sharma When asked what he would do when asked to remove all the grass by the home team management, Sharma said, “I have to follow their instructions but still a lot of grass will be left on the pitch.” He took this writer to the net practice pitches outside the Kotla. “I have developed a new technique of underground watering,” he confided but refused to divulge the method. Sharma has been a coach of two major clubs with the Delhi and District Cricket Association – the Hakim Ajmal Khan Club and the Subhania Club. “These two clubs have produced over 300 Ranji Trophy players for Delhi. I am proud to be associated with them,” he said as he went back to the current task at hand of preparing the wicket for the warm-up game between Pakistan and Delhi. (Javed Akhtar, a Jeddah-based journalist, is covering the Pakistan tour)