A celebration of Annil Kumble's stellar India career

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Anil Kumble in 1996

    Anil Kumble, or ‘Jumbo’ as he is fondly known, is one of the greatest match-winners India has produced. He debuted as a bespectacled, lanky lad in 1990, and now – 26 years later – Kumble still makes his presence strongly felt as the Indian team’s head coach.

    Kumble made a name for himself on the back of strong performances in the 1989 Ranji Trophy season, taking 24 wickets at an average of 19. He then progressed into the U-19 national team, before getting a call-up to the senior team.

    The Karnataka leg-spinner made his impact felt immediately as he became the fastest Indian bowler to reach both fifty and one hundred Test wickets, records that stood for 20-odd years before Ravichandran Ashwin discovered his own element in the format.

    Along with another man from his state – Javagal Srinath – Kumble formed the backbone of the Indian bowling line-up through the ’90s.

    After the arrival of Harbhajan Singh, Kumble found a reliable spin partner, which made facing India at home an even greater challenge for visiting teams.

    After 17 years of success on the international stage, Kumble also had a brief stint as the Indian captain. He led India to a long-awaited home series win against Pakistan, and then a memorable win over Australia at Perth in a hotly-contested Border-Gavaskar series in 2007-08.

    Kumble’s most remarkable contribution to the Indian team is reflected by his stupendous Test career. He ended as India’s highest-ever wicket-taker in the format with 619 scalps to his name, and the third highest wicket-taker of all-time; behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

    Kumble was also an excellent bowler in limited overs cricket; taking 337 wickets, putting him in the list of top-ten wicket-takers of all-time.

    Furthermore, Kumble used his guile and mastery to become a phenomenal T20 bowler in the Indian Premier League (IPL) later in his career.

    Although the format only caught on during the tail end of his career, Kumble adapted to the format quickly to become a core member of his home IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kumble’s career economy of 6.69 and an average of 24 over 54 matches shows just how well he fared in the format.

    PERFECT TEN AT KOTLA

    February 7, 1999 saw Anil Kumble take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match, a feat only matched by Jim Laker.

    After a strong performance by the Indian batsmen on a tricky Kotla wicket, Pakistan were set 420 runs to win in the fourth innings. With India trailing the series 0-1, the bowlers had to come through to save India the humiliation of dropping a series to their arch-rivals at home.

    Kumble decided to take matters into his own hands, razing through the Pakistani batting line-up and creating history in the process.

    Kumble ended with figures of 10-74 – a performance that cricket followers will find hard to forget.

    SUCCESS IN COUNTY CRICKET

    In 1995, Anil Kumble played a season of county cricket for Northamptonshire, taking 105 wickets at an average of 20.40.

    Along the way, he showed his adaptibility abroad, proving that even with minimal assistance from pitches, he could taste success. The season also helped him become one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1996.

    BOWLING WITH A BROKEN JAW

    Although not nearly one of his most impressive performances, Kumble’s committment to the team could be summed up by this photo.

    CRICKET-INDIA-WEST INDIES-KUMBLE

    Despite suffering a broken jaw, a bandaged Anil Kumble battled though the pain to throw down 14 overs, during which he dismissed the legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara.

    TEST CENTURY

    Kumble wasn’t exactly known for his batting, but on multiple occasions he proved to be a handful with the bat as well as the ball. He finished his Test career with over 2,500 runs and scored a memorable Test century at The Oval in 2007 to cap off India’s remarkable series win against England.

    This was an heartwarming moment for the Indian fan, to see Kumble sheepishly smiling upon scoring a well-deserved maiden [and last] Test ton.

    IPL MAGIC

    Kumble threw down one of the most trenchant spells in T20 cricket, taking 5-5 in 3.1 overs against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2009.

    Even two years after hanging his boots from international cricket, Kumble conjured up some magic that reminded fans of his peak years, bowling a spell of surgical precision and artifice.

    Recommended