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Full name Anil Kumble
Born October 17, 1970, Bangalore, Karnataka
Current age 37 years 355 days
Major teams India,Asia XI,Bangalore Royal Challengers,Karnataka,Leicestershire,Northamptonshire,Surrey
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak googly
England v India at Manchester, Aug 9-14, 1990 scorecard
Last Test
Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (PSS), Aug 8-11, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut
India v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Apr 25, 1990 scorecard
Last ODI
Bermuda v India at Port of Spain, Mar 19, 2007 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class debut
1989/90
Last First-class
Delhi v Rest of India at Vadodara, Sep 24-27, 2008 scorecard
List A debut
1989/90
Last List A
Bermuda v India at Port of Spain, Mar 19, 2007 scorecard
Twenty20 debut
Gloucestershire v Surrey at Bristol, Jul 24, 2006 scorecard
Last Twenty20
Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians at Bangalore, May 28, 2008 scorecard
Profile
No bowler in history has 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 trades the legspinner's proverbial yo-yo for a spear, as the ball hacks through the air rather than hanging in it and comes off the pitch with a kick rather than a kink. It is a method that has 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 has remarked that there is 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 when, in the mid-2000s, 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 has 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, though, 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.
Rahul Bhattacharya (October 1, 2008)
Notes
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1996
Timeline
August 9, 1990 Inconspicuous entry
A bespectacled and studious-looking Kumble makes his Test debut against England at Old Trafford. Bowling first-change, takes 3 for 105 - his first wicket is Allan Lamb, snared at silly point for 38 - as England rack up 519. Goes wicket-less in the second innings, and does not play in the third Test. Does not get another opportunity for more than two years.
September 27-30, 1992 Delhi - a love affair begins
Playing for Rest of India against Delhi, Kumble takes 13 for 138 in the Irani Trophy game, a performance that the selectors cannot ignore when the team for the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa is selected shortly after. The Kotla, as only time will so beautifully tell, proves to be Kumble's fortress as the years progress.
November 29, 1992 Welcome back the wily one
Back in the Test side after a long gap, his 6 for 53 - from 44 overs complete with 22 maidens - dismisses South Africa for 252 in their second innings during the second Test in Johannesburg. Five of his victims are bowled, beaten either by his zip off the pitch or else frustrated into playing across the line by his accuracy. The match is drawn, but he proves he is here to stay.
Plays his first home Test series, against England, and produces his first series-winning performance. Takes 21 wickets in three Tests, and establishes himself as India's frontline spinner. Opens the bowling in the second Test in Chennai - trapping Robin Smith leg-before for 17 - but it is his second innings' 6 for 64 that really leaves a mark. Admits that the first delivery he taught himself was the flipper, the lethal ball that tends to embrass the Test world's batting elite, and it is with this gem that he runs through England.
March 13-17, 1993 Zimbabwe no match
His eight wickets in the match - including 5 for 70 in the second innings - help India to an innings-and-13-run victory over Zimbabwe in a one-off Test at the Kotla, Kumble crossing 50 wickets in the process, in only his 10th match. After helping force Zimbabwe to follow on, licks his lips, gives the ball a flip in his nimble hands, and takes centrestage.
November 27, 1993 One-day wonder
Takes 6 for 12 against West Indies in Kolkata, a new record for bowling figures by an Indian, one that remains unbeaten for a decade. In the process, wins India the Hero Cup.
Takes his first 10-wicket haul - 11 for 128 in his 14th Test - as India beat Sri Lanka in Lucknow by an innings and 119 runs. Bamboozles the batsmen on the third and fourth days.
April, 1995 Spin works in England
Joins English county side Northamptonshire with an eye on developing his variety and learning more about pitches ahead of India's tour to England in 1996. Sticks to his lower trajectory and faster speed for one-day matches but bowls slower in the Championship, turning the ball sideways. Takes 105 wickets at 20.40 apiece.
October 18, 1995 Hundred at home
Takes his 100th Test wicket, that of Martin Crowe, in his 21st Test, in front of his home crowd in Bangalore. Complements his 4 for 39 in the first innings with 5 for 81 in the second, as New Zealand lose inside three days. His 100th, 300th and 400th wickets all come at this venue, to the immense pleasure of the supportive Bangalore fans.
In a gritty display of his sheer value to his team, contributes a fine 88, his highest Test score then, in a 161-run stand for the eight wicket with centurion Mohammad Azharuddin as India are crushed by 329 runs in the second Test at the Eden Gardens. Is the last man out - beaten by a brilliant throw from Herschelle Gibbs - but receives a standing ovation.
1996 One of Wisden's five
Is at the peak of his one-day career, finishing with 61 wickets at 20.24 and an economy rate of 4.06. Is the leading wicket-taker during the World Cup, held in Asia. Takes 105 Test wickets as well, and is named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year.
September 26, 1998 Double-hundred for the first time
With Gary Brent's wicket in Bulawayo, becomes the first spinner to take 200 wickets in one-day cricket. Is the seventh bowler in history and the second Indian to do so.
Becomes just the second man, after England's Jim Laker, to take all 10 wickets in an innings. That it comes against Pakistan, at home, adds to the brilliance of the feat. History is made, and India gain their first Test win over Pakistan for 19 years.
October 20, 2000 Hors de combat
Misses the opening game of the Coca Cola Champions Trophy against Sri Lanka after aggravating a right shoulder injury caused by a fall several months earlier. Three months later the BCCI announces that Kumble, 30, will be operated on by South African orthopedic surgeon Mark Fergusson in Johannesburg, and will be out for at least four months.
Finally returns to international cricket during India's tour of South Africa.
May 12, 2002 Broken jaw, what broken jaw?
Nursing a broken jaw - heavily strapped up, with bands going around his jaw, over his head and across the back of it - takes the field on the third day of the fourth Test at St. John's and sends down 14 numbing overs, dismissing Brian Lara lbw with one that rips from off. None can deny the efforts of Kumble, whose grit and resolve are there for all to see. The match ends in a tepid draw, and Kumble flies home - a hero, no less - to have his jaw sorted out.
After India have piled up 628 runs, takes 7 for 159 in the third Test against England at Headingley to help India level the series.
December, 2003-January, 2004 Awesome in Australia
Gets a chance to play the second Test against Australia after Harbhajan Singh is injured, and delivers one of his best performances, taking 24 wickets over three Tests as India draw the series. Inspired and inspirational on this tour, Kumble's spells in Adelaide - ignore the figures, his 5 for 154 reins Australia in magnificently - and Sydney - where he almost single-handedly bowls India to victory on a final day dominated by Steve Waugh's farewell - are among the best by an Indian overseas. Throughout the series, Kumble demonstrates that he can be as potent a strike bowler overseas as at home, and it is befitting that one colossus (Kumble) claims the other (Waugh) in a thrilling final day's play.
March, 2004 Injury catches up again
Is soon ruled out of the one-day series against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury - sustained in the series against Australia - not having healed sufficiently, but makes the Test squad.
Four wickets on the fourth day of the third and final Test at Rawalpindi script India's first-ever series win in Pakistan. With India's young pace brigade putting in a stunning performance on day one, Kumble is, surprisingly, left in the shadows. On the fourth day, however, he comes back for the kill, dealing swift, crushing blows to push the hosts to a defeat by an innings and 131 run. The series produces exciting cricket all the way and consistent performances from Kumble - who again tops the wickets tally for both sides - help India break the damning barrier of a first overseas series win in well over a decade.
October 6, 2004 Quadruple
With Simon Katich's wicket in his 85th Test - against Australia in Bangalore, becomes the second Indian to take 400 wickets. Pumping his fists and losing himself in the embrace of his team-mates, before his home crowd, evokes a lasting image of a hero destined for this mark.
December 10, 2004 435
Goes past Kapil Dev as India's leading wicket-taker with the wicket of Mohammad Rafique, trapped in front of the stumps, on the opening day of the first Test at the Bangabandhu Stadium. Needing just one wicket to overtake Kapil before the start of the match, takes two in two balls, but Mashrafe Mortaza safely defends the fifth ball of his 12th over. Accolades pour in from current and former cricketers alike, including a congratulatory message from Kapil himself.
Is dropped from the one-day side to tour Zimbabwe after playing two games in the Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka. Asks if different standards are used to measure different players.
November, 2005 Tending to domestic matters
Returns to domestic first-class cricket after six years, in the Ranji Trophy season opener in Delhi. Takes 3 for 86 in the first innings, as Karnataka restrict defending champions Railways to 323 before claiming the two points via a slender first-innings lead.
December 10-14, 2005 c Kumble b Kumble
Playing his 99th Test, takes 10 wickets for the eighth time in his career, and hands India a comprehensive 188-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test at the Kotla. Goes past Muttiah Muralitharan as the bowler with the most caught-and-bowled dismissals with a stunning, session-turning return catch to dismiss Marvan Atapattu. Two more wickets on the final day signal a thumping win, and Kumble heads to Ahmedabad with the mantle of India's premier match-winner resting lightly on his shoulders.
Later in December signs for Surrey as their overseas player for a key period of the 2006 summer.
Bowls India to a history series victory in the Caribbean, 35 years after they last did so under Ajit Wadekar. Takes 6 for 78 to bowl West Indies out for 219 as they chase 269 at Sabina Park.
Later that month, arrives in England for an eight-match stint with Surrey. Takes eight wickets in Northamptonshire's second innings - 11 for 183 in the match - to spin Surrey to success at The Oval.
August 23, 2006 Shoulder injury, an encore
A short stint with Surrey is cut shorter after he injures his shoulder. Is diagnosed with tendonitis in his right shoulder, which can only recover with rest, and so flies him out just five weeks after arriving in Kennington. Takes 26 wickets across all competitions.
September 3, 2006 Champions Trophy minus one champion
Is left out of India's Champions Trophy squad.
But is included, a month later, in India's one-day side for the tour of South Africa.
Announces retirement from ODIs, but says will be available for Test matches. Finishes his career with 337 wickets at 30.89 in 271 ODIs. His last game is against Bermuda at the World Cup where he takes 3 for 38 in India's 257-run win.
August, 2007 Doing what Warne never could
At The Oval knocks up a maiden hundred, one 17 years and 118 matches in the coming. In the same match goes past Glenn McGrath's 563 Test wickets, moving to No. 3 on the all-time list to accentuate his role in spin's golden era.
November 8, 2007 One who will
After Rahul Dravid's resignation, and Sachin Tendulkar's refusal, is chosen as the Test captain for the Pakistan. The honour comes after 118 Tests. Will later be chosen to lead the team to the tour of Australia, which in time will prove to be the most controversial since the Bodyline series.
December 26, 2007 A Boxing Day surprise for Australia
Takes 5 for 84 on the first day of the Melbourne Test to bowl Australia out for 343. The Indian batting falters twice, though, to lose the match by 337 runs.
More disappointment follows in the controversial Sydney Test, but with a whirlwind of emotions running around keeps his cool and leads the team admirably - on and off the field. Also says the famous line after the Sydney Test: "Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game."
January 17, 2008 AK 600
After having bravely chosen to bat first on the WACA wicket, becomes the third man to reach 600 wickets when he claims Andrew Symonds's wicket on the second day of the Perth Test.
Clenches his fists, punches the air, and is soon mobbed by his team-mates. Taking the ball from Umpire Asad Rauf, holds it up to the stands, and lets out the characteristic modest smile. Adam Gilchrist - who is at the non-strikers' end - walks up to congratulate Kumble, who tells him: "It would have been great if you had been my 600th victim."
The icing on the cake is a 72-run win, "the greatest of my career".
A crowd widely estimated as close to 100,000 watches with delight as West Indies' batting collapses in the final of the Hero Cup. From 57 for 1 they lose nine wickets for 66, and are all out with nearly 10 overs remaining; Kumble takes the last six for four runs in 26 balls. His full figures of 6 for 12 are the best for India in one-day internationals. One of his victims, Roland Holder, notches up the dubious first of being given out bowled by a TV umpire.
4 for 69 and 7 for 59 v Sri Lanka, Lucknow, 1993-94
Kumble's first 10-wicket haul, in his 14th Test. Eleven wickets in the match, replete with his second-innings seven-wicket haul, give India a thumping win over Sri Lanka in Lucknow, and Kumble, 23, his first Man-of-the-Match award. Bounding in, shoulders arched and eyes ablaze with intent, Kumble is a sight to behold on the third and fourth days, sending down over after over of fizzing, ripping legspin that utterly confounds the hapless Sri Lankans. Four vital scalps in the first innings force the tourists to follow on, only for Kumble to relentlessly continue his mastery - despite a bleeding nose and heat exhaustion - on the fourth day.
5 for 33 v New Zealand, Wellington, 1993-94
A target of 256 for New Zealand in the Wellington ODI briefly looks attainable as Shane Thomson and Adam Parore put on 85 for the sixth wicket. Thomson reaches 50 in 51 balls but Kumble has him stumped, and bowls Parore, and 28 off the last two overs is too much for the tail. Earlier, Kumble removes both Chris Harris and Blair Hartland, after they put on 60 for the second wicket, and finishes with 5 for 33.
Kumble's finest moment on the cricket field, becoming only the second bowler, after Jim Laker, to take all 10 wickets in a Test innings, claiming 10 for 74 in the second innings against Pakistan in Delhi. Strikes decisively to dismiss Shahid Afridi and Ijaz Ahmed off successive deliveries after Pakistan, chasing a record 420 for victory, begin with a century partnership. Wasim Akram, the second man in the innings to survive a hat-trick ball, becomes Kumble's 10th victim by pushing a catch to short leg. History is made, and India gain their first Test win over Pakistan for 19 years. Modest as ever, Kumble jokes in an on-air interview following the incredible achievement: "As a bowler, everybody dreams of getting 10 wickets. My mum, whenever I go to see her, says 'Get a hat-trick, get a hat-trick', the next time it will be 'Get 10 wickets'."
4 for 67 and 6 for 67 v New Zealand, Kanpur, 1998-99
When he traps Matthew Horne, New Zealand's opener, leg-before in the second innings of the Kanpur Test, Kumble completes his 250 wickets, becoming the fastest Indian to do so. He becomes just the third Indian bowler after Kapil Dev (434 wickets in 131 Tests) and Bishan Singh Bedi (266 wickets in 67 Tests) and the 21st bowler (fifth spinner) in Test history to achieve this milestone. Playing to his strength and seldom offering any width to the batsmen, he shatters New Zealand's top order with 6 for 67 in the second innings, setting India up for a clinical eight-wicket win inside four days. Match figures of 10 for 134 earn him another Man-of-the-Match award, and as India go on to win the series. Kumble is fittingly named the Man of the Series for his 20 wickets.
3 for 93 and 4 for 66 v England, Headingley, 2002
Kumble, often derided for being ineffective in away Tests, takes 7 for 159 in the third Test against England at Headingley, as India win by an innings and 46 runs. In a fine fifth-day spell, Kumble provides the killer blows, removing Alec Stewart and century-maker Nasser Hussain, as India snuff out England's dream of a miracle escape and complete a series-leveling win. This performance comes as a forceful reminder to his critics as Kumble, who goes past Allan Donald's tally of 330 wickets, proves that he can win India matches abroad.
An excellent spell in the Adelaide Test demonstrates again that he can be as potent a strike bowler overseas at as home. After getting just 1 for 116 from 28 overs on the first day Kumble, after a chat with Terry Jenner, picks up four wickets on the second to bowl Australia out for 556 after they are 400 for 5 at stumps. Australia seem set for at least 600 until Kumble has Ricky Ponting caught at slip for 242. He then follows up with the last two wickets in the same over. Famously, India win the Test by four wickets.
3 for 98 and 7 for 63 v Pakistan, Kolkata, 2004-05
Six wickets on the final day in Kolkata script a splendid 195-run win over archrivals Pakistan, giving them a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Despite a belligerent onslaught from Shahid Afridi that propels Pakistan to an ominous start, Kumble holds his nerve to dismiss him just before stumps on day four, and returns the following day to skittle the tourists out for 226. Stands tall with 10 in the match, his 7 for 63 being the standout bowling performance of the match. Once again, Kumble proves that at home there is no greater match-winner.
110 not out v England, The Oval, 2007
Kumble walks out with India 417 for 6 in the final Test, but the match isn't quite safe yet. A series is up for grabs, and Kumble bats supremely. He plays his part in rotating the strike with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and when increasingly tired bowlers serve up half-volleys and wide balls he crashes them to the ropes. He adds crucial partnerships with every tail-end batsman, and eventually reaches a maiden Test hundred with an inside-edge to fine leg. The relief and exhilaration are palpable. To a man the Indian team - already crowding the balcony - rose to their feet, celebrating Kumble's moment. It was one of cricket's romantic moments, a popular hero achieving a milestone that has evaded him in a 17-year-old career.
India, in their Test history, have had only a few good first days when on tour. This one at the MCG will rank right up with those few. After Australia have run away in the first session to try and attempt a similar script for India, Kumble takes control with a typical show. He first breaks the 135-run opening stand by getting Phil Jaques stumped, and next up are three batsmen who have made a living out of crushing bowling side's false hopes with big innings from any point of the game: Mike Hussey, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds. With Brett Lee's wicket towards the end of the day, Kumble becomes only the second spinner to take a five-for on the first day of a Melbourne Test. It is a different matter altogether that the Indian batting capitulates twice, but not before Kumble has set the tone for India to follow later in the famous series.
