Anil Kumble
February 25, 2007
Anil Kumble, the mere mention of these legendary letters is enough to bring a smile on the face of a Cricket fan. flooding back come the memories of countless afternoons spent watching this master spinner ply his trade, tormenting batsmen the world over tirelessly, hour after hour, with a rare mix of a determined, disciplined and deceiving bowling that has left its indelible mark in Cricket History.
To watch Kumble bowl has been artistic. His lanky frame moving in a perfect rhythm towards the batsman, his steely-eyed determination all too visible, and the entire slip cordon waiting to pounce, because with each delivery you know something is going to happen. You can feel his delivery zip through the air, cutting it like a tracer bullet locked on target, and you feel the thud as it hits the pitch, and then takes the most astonishing bounce to leave the spectators and the batsmen, all perplexed as you see one of his many magic tricks unfold.
And this master craftsmen has had his masterpieces, from early with a 6 wicket haul in the Hero Cup finals (the best figures by an Indian in ODIs), the Perfect 10 against Pakistan, the match winning performances abroad, 33 5-wickets in an innings, Anil Kumble has delivered. Records have tumbled along with opposition line ups and Kumble has given one great performance after another. Once criticized for his tame performances abroad, Kumble has proven his critics wrong by taking India to several crucial victories on foreign turf lately.
Kumble is no conventional spinner. This right hand leggie doesn’t rely on spin, nor does his ball loop in the air; rather it cuts through the air, kicks of the pitch and bamboozles the batsman. His accuracy and a bagful of variations make him unplayable on a spinning wicket, a virtual nightmare for batsmen on the sub-continental surfaces. And just to add to their misery, he has often gone on to tie them up for entire sessions at stretch, bowling relentlessly.
He has been the mainstay of the Indian attack for over a decade and along with Warne and Murali, he is widely regarded as one of the best spinners of our times.
Jumbo, as he is often called, thanks to his jumbo jet like deliveries, has been handy with the bat as well, used as a pinch hitter for a part of the late 90’s as well. But he never made the transition to All rounder, making his batting sessions a fun watch, though he has been known to take Batting Seriously like everything else. A man of many talents, this Padma Shri winner continues to shun superstardom, despite even having a Circle in Bangalore named after him. He is trained as a Mechanical Engineer and is known to have a good voice as well.
His bowling statistics speak for themselves, Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1996, he has over 900 scalps to his credit. He’s the most successful Indian bowler, the fourth highest wicket taker in test ever, and he has done so at an incredible average of 28.65. He compliments this by being taking the most wickets in ODIs as well. The record for the most caught and bolds also lies in his kitty.
While others may have faded away, Kumble has continued to pick bucket loads of wickets through out his career, battling back from serious injuries. To borrow from a famous Beatles number, it was 17 yrs ago that Anil Kumble showed the world how to bowl, and batsmen around the world have been playing to his tunes ever since. This World Cup looks promising for this 36 year old, and may prove a fitting swansong to an illustrious career. Is there still another chapter to be added to the story of his career, only time will tell? Here’s wishing him the best of luck for the Cup.
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