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All hail Jumbo.

Lurker

By Lurker
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Lurker Newbie

Lurker

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The Australians were not his fans...atleast not yet. Anil Kumble had the reputation of a bowler who thrived only on the dustbowls of the sub-continent. Nevermind his hundreds of wickets or his classic 10 wickets in an innings, the spinner was considered past his prime, if you would consider him a spinner in the first place. And why would a Aussie consider him a class leg spinner when they had their own Warne? It was under this scenario that Anil Kumble had reached Down Under in 2003. By the time the series ended Anil Kumble had taken 5 wickets at Adelaide in 1st innings that proved crucial, 6 wickets at Melbourne and 12 wickets at Sydney. A bowler that was not considered good enough to win Tests for India abroad had just about delivered what the bowling attacks of Wasim-Waqar-Akhtar-Saqlain, Donald-Pollock-DeViliers could never achieve - beat Australia in their own backyard. Perhaps the telling feature of Kumble's bowling happened in the Sydney game. On a high scoring pitch(about 1800 runs were scored in 5 days) Kumble bowled his heart out to bowl almost a 100 overs for 12 wickets. Chasing a target of 440 odds Aussies were on the last leg with Steve Waugh fighting a lone, and his last(he retired after the test), battle. Kumble set Waugh up with a series of off-stump delivery that moved just a shade away. Like a panther he bidded his time. Then he produced a delivery that came off the back of his hands, landed on the same spot and turned and bounced inside. It was a googly, Waugh read it wrong and the ball kissed his bat and travelled gleefully towards a keeper....only for a novice Parthiv Patel to drop it. Kumble would have been excused if he had let out a hurl of abuses(the entire country was doing that anyway!). Instead he accepted his defeat, went back and tried to set Waugh up again. In between the overs he would go to Parthiv Patel and tell him to forget about it. Eventually Kumble did get Waugh though the game, and the series, was a draw. By the time the series would end Kumble had 24 wickets in a 3 test series. Aussies were now a christened bunch and knew this was a special talent. After the Indian series it was time to convert the Pakistanis. Afterall they had been at the forefront of denouncing how Kumble had received the gift of 10 wickets at the hands of umpire at Kotla. And what a better way to silence your critics than in their own backyard? In the first test at Multan, Sehwag and Tendulkar ensured that India put enough runs on the board to put the host country under pressure. And then Kumble went to work. In the first innings he picked only two but his contribution was priceless, Inzamam the dangerman picked up when he looked all set. In the second innings, Pakistan following on were dismissed for 200 odds as Kumble ran through with 6 wickets.In the final and deciding match he would pick up 4 wickets in 2nd innings as India crushed Pakistan by innings and 131. India was winning, but still many were not convinced. Kumble was not fazed, all his life that was his story. Even his own countrymen have proved more loyal supporters of Warne and Murali than this genial bloke who gave it all when he bowled and gave nothing away when he batted. And batting was how he saved India when India toured West Indies.On a first day wicket at Jamaica, India lost 6 wickets under 100 when Kumble joined his captain Dravid in the middle. On a failing wicket he gritted his time, nudged for ones and two with occassional 4's.By the time he was dismissed he had scored 45, runs that would prove priceless finally.After India left West Indies a target of 269 runs to win the test, the master went to work. The young speedsters had removed the openers and the maestro started setting up the middle order batsmen. With guile,uncertain bounce and movement he would create doubts in the mind as he ran away with 6 wickets. India had won a series in West Indies after 35 years and another country had seen the master at his best. It was thus no surprise when Dravid threw the ball to Kumble at Johannesburg. Saffers were chasing 402 and were 200 plus for 6 wickets. India clearly in the driving seat but Ashwell Prince and Shaun Pollock battling it out for Saffers. The pitch had started to become more batsman conducive and Pollock was showing glimpses of why he is deemed one of the greatest all-rounders of his time. In a innings laced with 4's and a six he was taking the bull by its horn with Prince solid at the other end. Kumble went to work, like only he could. You could imagine him licking his fingers, throwing the ball up, start his run-up and land the ball on target. As Pollock tried to force his way out of the chakravyuh he tried one too many. He went for the sweep, found the ball too straight and was adjudged plumb lbw. As India neared kill, Kumble took out Nel and finally Prince himself. It was the final nail in the coffin and the maestro stepped back letting young guns get the winning accolodate. In the last 10 tests that India have won abroad, Kumble has 55 wickets at 22 with a strike rate of a wicket every 45 deliveries. And that my dear friends is a very good reason why India has won as much as it has abroad recently. Go ask a Saffer, Pakistani, Windies....or an Australian. xxxxx

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The Outsider Newbie

The Outsider

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Re: All hail Jumbo. Wrote this a while back, I think when Kumble went past 500 wickets:

A tribute to arguably the best Indian bowler ever, an integral part of India's stranglehold at home, and a fighter to the core: 10. 44-22-53-6 vs. SA at Johannesburg '92-'93: In a drawn encounter where India were trailing by 50 odd runs in the first innings, Kumble applied the first of many choke jobs on the opposition suffocating the Saffies looking for quick runs and picking up regular wickets. 9. 27.3-9-59-7 vs. SL at Lucknow '93-'94: Not the greatest opposition, but I was there at the ground to witness the champion in action. A typical example of the devastation he has repeatedly inflicted on teams on crumblers. 8. 41.3-8-98-6 vs. Aus at Bangalore '97-'98: On a typical and absolute Bangalore patta offering nothing for the spinners, he did his best to curtail the free scoring Mark Waugh and regularly denting the Aussies in their quest for a consolation win, which they ultimately got. 7. 29.5-12-66-4 vs. Eng at Headingly '02: Spin and Headingly are rarely spoken in the same breath, but given a cushion of runs Kumble showed he can master even the most spinner unfriendly conditions, complementing a fine all round team performance to set up India's first win in England after 16 years. Always struck with crucial breakthroughs whenever England were threatening to play out a draw. 6. 45.4-17-83-4 vs. NZ at Wellington '98-'99: Wellington, spin, second day pitch. Doesn't sound coherent, does it? It was more than that and an example of how the use of him as a stock bowler on seaming wickets with 200 odd to defend has been deterimental to the fighter. On this occasion he came out trumps and I dont think I'll ever be able to forget the delivery he bowled Astle on. 5. 30-10-72-6 vs. Pak at Multan '04: On an absolute belter, Kumble toiled away to make sure there were no hiccups on course to India's first ever win in Pakistan, setting up the series victory. Reaffirmed his dominance over Inzamam during the test and became close to unplayable in the second innings. 4. 22.5-7-46-4 vs. Aus at Chennai '97-'98: On the same wicket where Tendulkar had just carted Warne all over, Kumble made each Australian batsman look clueless and with the early wickets of Taylor, Blewett, and M Waugh finished any hopes the Aussies had of doing a Tendulkar. Bowled much better than those figures and the rip and fizz was awesome. 3. 46.5-7-141-8&42-8-138-4 vs. Aus at Sydney '03-'04: On a belter as never seen before and where no other bowler even looked like picking up a wicket, Kumble did so consistently. Backed by a huge score and a license to wheel away at the intimated Aussies he all but spoilt S Waugh's farewell party, but the dismissal S Waugh c. Tendulkar b. Kumble will always remind me of some great champions of our era. 2. 26.3-9-74-10 vs. Pak at Delhi '98-'99: The figures say it all. Or do they? The pitch was helpful, Pakistan were chasing a huge score but only one other bowler has done it before in 100+ years. Once he got into his groove, the bounce, and turn was too much for one confused batsman after another who couldn't even get another bowler into the picture despite trying to do so. 1. 17.3-4-48-7 vs. Aus at Chennai '04: The absolute best till date. How many spinners have decimated a batting lineup of the callibre of the Aussies on a first day pitch? None bar Kumble. His last spell 10.3-2-25-7 speaks of complete mayhem, which it was as batsman after batsman had no clue about whether to go back or come forward, foxed by the bounce and just a couple of inches of deviation which picked up edge after edge.
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yoda Newbie

yoda

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Re: All hail Jumbo. Great writeup. Yes, Kumble is one of the several reasons. He is always focussed, never wavers and more often than not delivers. Other reasons are improved seam/pace bowling and mature batting. He hits the right line and length in no time, keeps up the pressure and mixes up deliveries.

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Dirty_South Newbie

Dirty_South

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Re: All hail Jumbo. I met Anil Kumble some 6 years Back ..when I was in my 10th Standard... He was a Cheif Guest in some Function and He was A gem of A person... I used to tell this to everybody I met... HUMBLE-KUMBLE ! Our entire class spoke to him and he gave answers patiently... I have his Autograph also....Cannot forget this in my whole life! When asked who his Fav Cricketer Was...his answer was Sachin and Dravid.... And Yes he's definitely the UNSUNG HERO :samurai:

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yoda Newbie

yoda

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Re: All hail Jumbo.

I dread to think what will happen when Jumbo retires. He's just a titan.
We may need to get Monty deported. Can that happen in the UK?
Monty will have to do 4 yrs of vanvaas even if he has or gets a Indian PP ... ICC rules. :lol:
Ok, then. Doc, get him framed right away. :lol:
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Dhondy Newbie

Dhondy

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Re: All hail Jumbo. Yes, Boss, I am a bitter twisted old man, but it comes of years of suffering knaves...undeserving underachievers ultimately destined for the rubbish bin, hyped up by the trusting fans and media, until they become larger than life figures, only to be deflated like a 10-pence balloon when facing real opposition on their own terms in the real form of the game. No thanks, guys, I don't suffer fools easily. Put it down to my cantankerous advanced years, and my wobbling, ill-fitting dentures, but I've had enough of these blown up good-for-nothings to sit quietly while people extol their virtues.

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yoda Newbie

yoda

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Re: All hail Jumbo. Doc, same applies to Pathan. See his non-minnow bowling average in tests. [code:9a3d5669c3] Overall: 91 wickets @ 30.79 Minnow series 1: 18 wickets @ 11.88 Minnow series 2: 21 wickets @ 11.28 Non minnow: 52 wickets @ 45.21 [/code:1:9a3d5669c3] But he can bat for sure.

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