5 most iconic bowling spells by an Indian

#1 Anil Kumble vs Pakistan (Delhi, 1999)

This performance from Anil Kumble can be kept right up there with Laxman's 281 on the list depicting India's finest performances in the longest format of the sport.

Pakistan made the trip across the border to battle their neighbours and arch-rivals in a test series after a gap of nine long years. Living up to the billing, the first test in Chennai was a humdinger where the visitors denied India a win by a small margin of 12 runs.

The stakes were high and losing a test to their feisty neighbours in the nation's capital was not one of the options, and there was the question of equalling the two-match series as well. Mohammad Azharuddin elected to bat first at the Feroz Shah Kotla as India somehow managed to add up 252 runs. Saqlain Mushtaq, extracting every ounce of spin from the Kotla pitch, bagged his third fifer of the series in three innings.

Subsequently, Indian spin duo of Harbhajan and Kumble shared seven wickets among them and halted Pakistan's innings at 172. With not much margin of error, the Pakistani off-break bowler added another fifer to his kitty, making it a perfect four in four innings.

With his counterpart stamping his authority on the game, and how, Kumble had to lead from the front being India's premier spinner. However, few would have predicted what was to unfold on the fourth day of the test match.

Chasing a target of 420 runs with one more day in hand, Pakistan started strong and were in the driver's seat as their openers added up 101 runs before Kumble began weaving his magic. The leg-spinner sent Afridi and Ijaz Ahmed packing on consecutive deliveries. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf were the next two victims of Kumble's leg spin, before Moin Khan and Saeed Anwar trudged their way back to pavilion as well in consecutive overs from the Karnataka bowler.

Saleem Malik's wicket some 16 overs later in the Pakistani innings exposed the tail and a perfect 10 was in Kumble's sight. Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq fell on back-to-back deliveries as well and Kumble was just a wicket away from equalling Jim Laker's then 45-year-old record.

Wasim Akram became the leg spinner's 10th scalp of the innings as Kumble registered never-before-seen figures of 26.3-9-74-10 and India registered a thumping victory by 212 runs to end the series on level terms.