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| Jumbo: Anil Kumble: the Googly Specialist |
Full name: Anil Kumble
Born October 17, 1970, Bangalore, Karnataka
Major teams India, Asia XI, Karnataka,
Leicestershire,Northamptonshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Surrey
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak googly
Profile
No bowler in history won India more Test matches than Anil
Kumble, and there probably hasn't been a harder trier either. Like the great
tall wristspinners Bill O'Reilly and his own idol BS Chandrasekhar, Kumble
traded the legspinner's proverbial yo-yo for a spear, as the ball hacked
through the air rather than hanging in it and came off the pitch with a kick
rather than a kink. The method provided him stunning success, particularly on
Indian soil, where his deliveries burst like packets of water upon the feeblest
hint of a crack, and more than one modern-day batsman remarked that there was
no more difficult challenge in cricket than handling Kumble on a wearing
surface.
Kumble's prodigious capacity to bear pain was proved in
Antigua in 2002 when he bandaged his fractured jaw to deliver a stirring spell,
and that to continuously learn in the mid-2000s when, after a decade of
middling away performances, he influenced memorable wins in Headingley,
Adelaide, Multan and Kingston, using an improved googly, bigger sidespin and
more variation in flight and on the crease.
In a brilliant though always downplayed career Kumble claimed
virtually every Indian record. In 1999 in Delhi he swallowed all ten wickets in
an innings against Pakistan. In December 2001, on home turf in Bangalore, he
became the India's first spinner to take 300 Test wickets. A year later, almost
to the day, he became the first to do so in one-dayers. In August 2007 at The
Oval he went past Glenn McGrath's 563 wickets and in January 2008 he broke the
600 barrier, to stand behind only Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan,
emphasising his contribution to spin's golden era. And at The Oval he chalked
up what, judging by the pure ecstasy of his reaction and the dressing room's,
was perhaps his most cherished feat of all - a Test century that had been 17
years and 118 matches in the coming.
Less than a month after his 37th birthday, he received the
ultimate honour when he was named India's Test captain for the home series
against Pakistan. He went on to win the series, the first home triumph against
Pakistan in 27 years, before playing a big role in holding the side together
during the controversial series in Australia. He was also India's leading
wicket-taker with 20 in the four Tests.
His form, however, slipped during the tour of Sri Lanka and
there were calls for him to quit after a wicketless performance in the Bangalore
Test against Australia. A shoulder injury added fuel to the fire and an upset
Kumble reacted sharply, saying that he had it in him to continue for a while
longer. However, he changed his mind during the Delhi Test and announced his
retirement, fittingly at his favourite venue. He finished his career as the
third-highest Test wicket-taker (619), behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane
Warne. He continued playing competitively, in the IPL, and his leadership of
the Royal Challengers Bangalore was instrumental in getting them to the final
in 2009 after a disappointing first season.
Anil Kumble Takes 10 Wickets in a Test Match !!
