Gambhir has leadership qualities, but Dhoni has done well as a Test captain: Kumble

India’s legendary leg-spinner and former captain Anil Kumble on Saturday hailed Gautam Gambhir's success as a captain in the IPL and said it's nice that Indian cricket has "somebody else" apart from Mahendra Singh Dhoni to lead from the front, says a report in The Times Of India.

Talking to reporters during a promotional programme here, Kumble, however, said that Dhoni was doing well as a Test captain save the eight defeats against England and Australia in the team's last two tours.  "He (Gambhir) has showed his credentials. He has the ability. It's nice to have somebody else in the team who has showed his ability, led from the front and batted well," Kumble said referring to Gambhir's stint with the triumphant Kolkata Knight Riders.

According to a report in The DNA, Kubmle also said that it augurs well for Indian cricket. “But Test captaincy is different from T20. Apart from the eight Tests, Dhoni has done well in the past. I consider this as a leadership group, which is a core group in the team,” Kumble said, adding that it was frustrating to see the once world number 1 team losing eight Tests in a row.

“Defeat can be acceptable when you know that the opposition is dominating, but not when you are a No 1 side. The last time, we were dealt with such a blow was in 2000 Australia series that we had lost 0-3.”

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 44 runs: Thisara Perera bagged a hat-trick to bowl Sri Lanka to a dramatic 44-run victory over Pakistan in the fourth one-day international in Colombo on Saturday. Pakistan were strongly placed at 166/2 in the 38th over before they collapsed to 199 all out chasing a 244-run target in the day-night contest, with man-of-the-match Perera finishing with 4-42.

England beat West Indies: Ian Bell marked his return to England's one-day side with a stylish century as they beat the West Indies by 114 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method in their series opener on Saturday. Man-of-the-match Bell, given the task of filling the opener's spot vacated by Kevin Pietersen following the South Africa-born batsman's retirement from white ball internationals, responded with 126 in an England total of 288 for six made after the hosts lost the toss.