Anil Kumble      

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.
Rahul Bhattacharya 2008

• 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.
    
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• February 1993
  Home is where the guile is
  • 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.
    
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• January 20-22, 1994
  Ten-up
  • 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.
    
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• November 29, 1996
  Batman Kumble
  • 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.
    
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• February 7, 1999
  Height of the Kotla love affair
  • 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.
    
• 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.
    
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• August 26, 2002
  Famous win
  • 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.
    
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• April 16, 2004
  Overseeing an overseas win
  • 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.
    
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• August, 2005
  A one-day misfit?
  • 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.
    
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• July 2, 2006
  Doing West Indies in West Indies
  • 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.
    
• 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.
    
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• March 30, 2007
  ODIs' loss is Tests' gain
  • 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.
    
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• 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.
    
• April 3-5, 2008
  Fifty not so nifty
  • The Ahmedabad Test against South Africa marked the 50th time that Kumble and Harbhajan played together. However, Kumble reportedly was not impressed with the Motera track, and South Africa won inside three days.
    
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• April 11, 2008
  Injury hit
  • Already struggling with injury, Kumble is ruled out of the Kanpur Test against South Africa.
    
• August 3, 2008
  Comeback doesn't surprise Kumble
  • India win the second Test in Galle, thereby leveling the series with one to play. "Its 1-1 and we need to assess the conditions at the P Sara Stadium, and then we will take a call," he says. "We're really confident of putting up a good show and if we repeat this performance we will get a good result." However, India lose the third Test just over a week later.
    
• October 2, 2008
  VRS? What VRS?
  • Shortly before the first Test against Australia, Kumble rubbishes reports that seniors in the side are being forced into retirement by the BCCI and the selectors.
    
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• November 2, 2008
  The end of an era
  • A wicketless performance in Bangalore, worsened by a shoulder injury, only increased the pressure on Kumble to hang his boots. After missing the second Test, he insisted he had more cricket left in him but decided in Delhi he had had enough. He announced his retirement late on the fifth afternoon. He ended his 132-Test career with 619 wickets to finish the third-highest wicket-taker behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
    
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• 6 for 12 v West Indies, Kolkata, 1992-93
  • 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.
    
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• 4 for 75 and 10 for 74 v Pakistan, Delhi, 1998-99
  • 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
    
• 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.
    
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• 5 for 154 v Australia, Adelaide, 2003-04
  • 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.
    
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• 5 for 84 v Australia, Melbourne, 2007-08
  • 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.
    
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