MUMBAI: The crucial deciding match against polio has to be won. That was the message that spin bowler Anil Kumble had during a conference organised by Unicef in Karnataka.

He was trying to create awareness about 9 May which is the sub-national immunisation day (Snid) for the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.

Unicef has come out with a new round of Polio Eradication Television Messages which have been made in Kannada and Telugu. They feature Dr. Rajkumar and star Chiranjeevi. At the meeting Kumble urged parents, health workers and all polio eradication partners to ensure that all children under five years received their polio drops on.

He added, “Considering that 36 polio cases had cropped up suddenly in Karnataka last year, it is no small achievement to have restricted them to a single case so far this year. This brightens up our hopes for complete eradication in the state soon enough”.

Polio had stuck South India after a gap of two years last year with 36 cases reported in Karnataka and 21 cases in Andhra Pradesh. The partnership between cricketers and the polio eradication program in India had kicked off in Mumbai last year. Cricketers came forward to assist the government in bowling out polio.