Kumble turns 45: Some stupendous achievements of India's best bowler

Anil Kumble was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame early this yearWhile Zaheer Khan’s retirement comes as a shock, it’s time to rejoice as another one of India’s finest bowlers, and Zaheer’s senior teammate and former captain celebrates his birthday this Saturday.Anyone who doesn’t know Kumble has not witnessed or gone through the pages of India’s cricket history during the 90’s and 2000’s. Kumble made his ODI debut on 25 April 1990, and his Test debut (Old Trafford, same year) was the same match in which Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden century. The two played together for India for more than 18 years, and won India numerous feats in Tests and one-dayers, home and abroad. While Anil Kumble’s ODI career faded post World Cup 2003, his Test career peaked in these years, but he came back for his final one-day swansong during the 2007 World Cup, where India failed miserably.However, when everyone had written team India off, the seniors who seemed to have been playing beyond their best years, came to the fore to win India a Test series in England after 21 years, and their first home series against Pakistan in over 37 years. This included Kumble scoring his maiden Test century, and earning the position of India’s Test captain.Though 2008 wasn’t as successful as these golden years, India added another feather to their cap after winning yet another home series against Australia – bringing along with it the retirement of Kumble and Sourav Ganguly.However, Kumble’s best was not over as he marshalled his home team Royal Challengers Bangalore’s way into the IPL final with his bowling and captaincy in 2009, and took them to another edition of the Champions Trophy in 2010, his final year in competitive cricket. His 20 eventful years on an international stage had many milestones. Let’s have a look at some of his achievements – ones we know and ones we never knew about.

#1 Eden Gardens-1993

Kumble set the historic Eden Gardens alight in one of India’s biggest ODI victories during Diwali season

A five-nation one-day final. The first floodlight final in India. The stadium with the highest capacity (100,000) in the world. Diwali eve. India bats first and gets a low score. And Brian Lara and Co. are blazing away with the chase. Sachin gets Lara, but West Indies are unstoppable. Azhar then introduces into the attack one spinner who is looking to establish himself as an integral member of the team. This was just the stage Anil Kumble was waiting for.

Kumble took all the six remaining wickets in a spell of just six overs and becomes the first bowler in the world to do so under floodlights. India wins the final in front of a huge crowd, and the world of cricket now knows who Anil Kumble is.

#2 ODI master-1996

Anil Kumble took important wickets in all matches during the 1996 World Cup

1996 was quite an eventful year for the Indian team and Anil Kumble. For five long years between 1993 and 1997, India did not play a match without Kumble and Sachin, which means Kumble featured in every Indian match in 1996. Anil Kumble finished as the highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets during the 1996 World Cup.

He was yet again man-of-the-match in the Titan Cup (where Australia was the third team) final against South Africa, taking 4 wickets again under floodlights at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

In the same series, he batted with Srinath for an 80-run 9th wicket partnership to chase a stiff target from Australia. He finished the year with 61 wickets in just 32 matches, which still ranks as the fifth-most number of wickets taken by a bowler in a calendar year in ODIs.

#3 The King of Kotla

Kumble’s perfect ten still reverberates every time an international is played at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla.

9 years into his career, Kumble stunned the cricket world by becoming only the second bowler after England’s Jim Laker, to take 10 wickets in a Test innings. The feat came on a cold and foggy, early February morning in Delhi, just months before the World Cup, with Pakistan chasing a target of 420. India’s arch-rivals were sailing at 101 for no loss, when Kumble’s masterful bowling made the opponents collapse within a span of another 106 runs, establishing Kumble among the best bowlers of the 90’s in both Tests and ODIs.

#4 First spinner to reach 300 in ODIs

Anil Kumble’s 300th ODI victim was Marlon Samuels. He becomes the first spinner and third bowler overall to achieve this feat.

On 6th November 2002, months after bowling with a broken jaw against the same Caribbean side (which made him adopt a French beard), Anil Kumble became the first spinner, and the third bowler overall (after Wasim and Waqar) to take 300 wickets in one-day cricket.

He achieved this feat even before Muttiah Muralitharan, but his position in the one-day team was no more a constant, partly due to his own lack of form, and partly due to the preference of Harbhajan Singh for the one-dayers. Maybe that’s why he could add only 37 more wickets in all the matches he managed to play in the next 5 years.

#5 2004-A dawn of a new Kumble

Anil Kumble was unstoppable during 2004

Anil Kumble finished 2004 with 82 international wickets (74 in Tests and 8 in ODI’s). His best performance came with the very first match of the year, taking 12 wickets in Steve Waugh’s historic farewell Test in Sydney.

He took another 15 wickets in India’s first ever series win in Pakistan, and over 25 wickets in Australia’s Test series in India. In the same year, he surpassed Javagal Srinath as India’s leading ODI wicket-taker, a position his childhood friend held for a very short while due to his amazing performances in the 2003 World Cup.

Kumble also surpassed Kapil Dev as India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests in December, a feat that will remain with him for a very long time. In fact, Anil Kumble, who was written off during the initial part of his career as a good bowler overseas, managed 49 wickets in only 11 Tests in Australia with 44 coming off his last two tours; a 6-wicket haul in South Africa in 1992, a 7-wicket match haul against England in India’s biggest overseas victory in 2002, and a 5-wicket one-day haul in New Zealand.

#6 The Kumble Curse

Did leaving Anil Kumble out in important ODI clashes cost India?

Well, not a feat of course, and definitely not something Kumble or any Indian wanted, but this is a quite interesting fact.

On 23rd March 2003, India played their first World Cup final 20 years after their first World Cup win. Anil Kumble was a part of the squad, but India under Sourav Ganguly chose to stick with the 3 in-form seamers and Harbhajan Singh, and the out-of-form Dinesh Mongia. India won the toss and chose to field on a slightly overcast morning on a batting paradise, and all their plans failed miserably.

India lost the final and their World Cup dream that year was not fulfilled. Cut to four years ahead, the very same day. On 23rd March 2007, India were to play a must-win World Cup match against Sri Lanka. The equation was simple – India’s victory would have ensured them a place in the super eights, thanks to their biggest victory in ODI’s, against Bermuda just 3 days ago (after losing to Bangladesh in their first match).

In the match against Bermuda, Kumble ended with the best bowling figures. But history repeated itself. India, this time under Rahul Dravid, again opted for the 3 in-decent-form seamers and Harbhajan Singh. They won the toss in conditions quite similar to the 2003 final, chose to field, and their World Cup dreams were ruined yet again. Kumble announced his official retirement from ODIs the very next day.

Though Kumble was left out for at least 5 finals during the 2000’s, a point to be noted is that during his ODI career between 1991 and 2007, India did not win any single final without the assistance of either of Anil Kumble or Sachin Tendulkar (in fact India’s first win without Sachin was the 2010 Asia Cup Final). The only exception was the 1998 Independence Cup, where India managed to win a best-of-three finals without Anil Kumble.

#7 Kumble the batsman

Kumble finally managed a Test hundred, 17 years and 149 Test innings after his debut in an important series win ensuring knock.

After managing a narrow escape in the first Test at Lord’s, India held on to an emphatic victory at Trent Bridge and were now looking to safeguard a series win in England after 21 years.

This was the golden period in India’s Test match history, and India could only manage better results than ever before. In the third Test, India batted first, and while no one managed a single hundred in the 9 ODI’s and 3 Tests during the tour, only the “golden” Anil Kumble stroked his way to a handsome maiden Test hundred in front of a formidable crowd surrounding one of the most historically significant grounds – the Kennington Oval.

Anil Kumble’s hundred came in his 150th Innings, which is till date the most taken by any player to get to his first Test century.

#8 Finally, Test Captain

Anil Kumble became the captain of his country in his 118th Test, another one of his dubious-yet-delightful distinctions.

In November 2007, Anil Kumble was awarded the highest pedestal for any cricketer-the Test captaincy for India. He had captained India in a successful ODI against England in 2002 making him India’s only captain with a 100% victory percentage in ODI’s.

Kumble holds the record for most number of matches (118) played before captaining a Test team. Well, Kumble accepted the challenge as India’s Test captain willingly and won India his first-ever match as Test captain on his favorite ground-Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla, against the same opposition he achieved his record 8 years ago.

India won the series and what was happening was no less than a dream for someone with 17 years of international experience already.

#9 The 600-mark

Andrew Symonds was Anil Kumble’s 600th Test victim.

Well, India’s potentially best attempt at winning a series down-under with an experienced side that knew Aussie conditions too well, did not start off too well, starting with a poor defeat, and followed by a controversial second Test, which involved almost a dozen controversial umpiring decisions and the infamous ‘monkeygate’ incident.

Indian fans all around the country were thirsty for Aussie blood, and Anil’s boys delivered just that. Youngster Ishant Sharma chipped in, and so did Sehwag and Irfan Pathan (the man of the match), who were making their comeback of sorts.

India won a historic Test match on the world’s fastest wicket Perth. But the highlight was Anil Kumble getting to his 600th wicket, becoming only the third bowler in the world after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan to get there. His haul still sits well ahead of any of the current bowlers, and it would take a great deal for any bowler to surpass this feat in a single career.

#10

Anil Kumble announced his retirement just moments before the end of the Test match, 18 years after his debut.

2008 was a transition period for Indian cricket. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were done with their best in ODI’s, and Sourav Ganguly decided to quit his international career after the end of Australia’s Test series in India.

India were not at their Test-best throughout the year, but MS Dhoni’s golden touch as a captain was the talk of the town. Kumble was not fit after the drawn first Test, and Amit Mishra grabbed this opportunity with both hands. Luckily enough for Kumble, while he got fit for the first Test at Kotla, Harbhajan injured himself, which ensured the two leg-spinners a place without leaving Bhajji on the bench.

The curators prepared a wicket that was quite a dead wicket from Kotla’s standards, and while India batted brilliantly, Kumble or any other Indian bowler could not stop Australia from matching India’ efforts. Kumble injured his hands while diving to save a bludgeoning stroke from Matthew Hayden; he got his fingers treated at Delhi’s AIIMS hospital, and came back to wrap up Australia’s innings with a spectacular, running high catch to dismiss Mitchell Johnson.

He announced his retirement during India’s second innings and was carried on the shoulders by his loving teammates on his very favorite ground. The end of India’s golden era in Test cricket was near.

Kumble finished with 956 international wickets (third overall), with 619 in Tests and 337 in ODI’s. Kumble was a safe fielder too, with 60 catches in Tests and 85 in ODI’s. He holds the world record for most wickets taken lbw in Tests and shares the record for most caught-and-bowled victims with Muralitharan.

Anil Kumble is among the most respected and uncontroversial cricketers around the world and has since donned many roles, including heading the ICC, photographing his tours, sponsoring wildlife, administering Karnataka cricket, running an internationally-successful sports management company and commentary. He has a circle in one of Bangalore’s most happening areas near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, named the Anil Kumble Circle.

#11 IPL and T20 outings: Another dimension of Anil\'s personality

Anil Kumble was an on-and-off purple cap during IPL 2009, almost taking his team to a tournament win

When you thought all was over, there was more from Anil Kumble. While he made an impressive T20 debut for Surrey in 2006, during his active international career, Anil Kumble’s real T20 skills came to the fore with the onset of the Indian Premier League.

Though he could not manage too many matches in the inaugural season due to injury, he won his home side Royal Challengers of Bangalore a low-scoring match against Chennai Super Kings.

But the second season of IPL in 2009, that was played in South Africa, almost entirely belonged to Kumble. He took 5/5 in his teams first match, ended as the second highest wicket-taker for the season, and was made captain for the most part of the season where his team lost only won match – the final.

Though his team lost, he was awarded as man-of-the-match in the final, where he took 4 wickets while conceding just 16 runs. He retired in the next season, but ensured his team reached the semi-finals in 2010 as well, and the Champions League in both years, with the 2010 Champions league semi-final against title-winners CSK his last competitive outing.

Anil Kumble was inducted into ICC’s Hall of Fame in February 2015, a recognition every cricketer dreams of.