5 greatest players from Karnataka 

#4. Anil Kumble

India vs West Indies, St. Johns. 2002.

Merv Dillon delivers a pacy ball that crashes on the batsman's face. It is a huge blow and the damage is clearly seen as the batsman spits blood. The blow has broken the batsman's jaw.

One innings later, the same player whose jaw is broken, emerges from the pavilion, his face wrapped in a white bandage and delivers 14 consecutive overs. With a broken jaw, he dismisses one of the best modern day batsman, Brian Lara.

Watching this lion-hearted bowling performance, the great Viv Richards exclaimed, "It was one of the bravest things I've seen on the field of play.".

Richards has played 121 Tests and has seen plenty of cricket. When Richards says it was a brave effort, then it was indeed a brave effort.

And the man who performed this brave act was India's best bowler in Test cricket ever. With 619 wickets in 132 Tests and 337 wickets in 271 ODI's, he is the third highest wicket-taker in international cricket.

And he is also the only second bowler in the world to claim all ten wickets in a Test innings. But nothing reflects Anil Kumble's career better than his brave bowling effort at St. Johns in 2002.

Defeating the adversity by trying hard was what he did in his career. He started as a medium pacer and settled down as a leg-spinner. However, he failed to purchase any turn from the surface which other leg-spinners are known for.

But he overcame his flaw of lack of turn by bowling accurately and by using subtle variations. Whatever the situation, Kumble was always ready for a fight. For him, the result never mattered, what he focused on was his efforts.

He was also a handy batsman in the lower order and was the captain of India's Test team during his last year. He remains as one of India's most respected and loved cricketers due to his never-die attitude and disciplined nature.