![Anil Kumble [Source: @mysportswiz/x]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1768642570586_AnilKumble.jpg?type=hq)
Anil Kumble [Source: @mysportswiz/x]
Few cricketers have embodied resilience, discipline and unwavering commitment to the cause of Indian cricket quite like Anil Kumble. One of the greatest leg-spinners of all time, the 132-Test veteran brought down curtains to his illustrious career being India’s most successful bowler of all time in Tests and ODIs.
Nearly two decades since his retirement, Anil Kumble continues to remain India’s highest wicket-taker in the two prestigious formats by a landslide, finding himself 82 sticks ahead of second-placed Ravichandran Ashwin.
Back in early 2008, i.e., in his final year of international cricket, Anil Kumble breached the 600-wicket threshold, thus becoming only the third bowler in the history of the game to scale the landmark figure.
When Anil Kumble scripted historic 600 wickets for India
Anil Kumble led Team India in the third Test of the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series in Australia back in January 2008 at the WACA in Perth. Up against a champion Australian team on a trail of 16 successive Test wins, and trailing 0-2 in the four-match series, Kumble’s spirited Indian troops humbled hosts by 72 runs to enforce a decider.
The captain himself picked up four wickets in the match, including the prized scalp of an in-form Andrew Symonds in each innings. Notably, Anil Kumble’s first wicket of the match on Day 2 also helped him complete 600 wickets in his Test profile.
The momentous occasion occurred in the 36th over of the first Australian innings after Anil Kumble got Andrew Symonds caught by Rahul Dravid at slip with a faster one. The breakthrough went on to pave way for a huge 118-run lead for the Indian team as the Australians bundled out for just 212 in response to the visitor’s 330-run total.
By completing 600 Test wickets with the dismissal of Andrew Symonds, Anil Kumble also became only the third cricketer in the history of the game to breach the landmark figure, thus joining an elite league of legends featuring Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and late-Australian leg spinner Shane Warne.
Legacy of Anil Kumble in Tests
Since announcing his retirement from international cricket back in 2008, Anil Kumble has been surpassed only by England fast bowler James Anderson in the all-time wicket-takers list. Courtesy of Anderson’s 704-wicket haul in Test cricket by the time of his retirement, Kumble now ranks fourth among the most successful bowlers of all time with 619 sticks in 236 innings spanning 132 Tests.
The legendary Indian leg-spinner concluded his career with an impressive Test average of 29.65, and bagged 35 five-fers and eight 10-wicket hauls. Anil Kumble is also one of only three bowlers in history to have claimed all 10 wickets in an innings, doing so against Pakistan in 1999 in Delhi.
Apart from being one of the greatest craftsmen in the art of leg-spin, Anil Kumble was also more than just a handy commodity with the bat in the lower-order. He aggregated over 2,500 runs with the bat in Test cricket, and has a Test century to his name in English conditions.
