Anil Kumble: Top five cricketing moments

3. Perth comeback – after Monkey-gate

It takes a special kind of leader to shepherd a demoralized side from the darkness of despair to the glorious sunshine of victory. India, already two down in the four-match Test series against Australia, had just come off a game rife with more controversies than the number of hot dinners I’ve had in recent times.

Kumble had a tough job on his hands, besides plotting strategies for Australia’s downfall and other things. He had to get his boys back on track, get them to focus on the task ahead and try to put Sydney behind them. And to do that, he needed to make some changes.

He brought back Virender Sehwag to open the innings, and injected fresh enthusiasm into the pace department with the likes of Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma and RP Singh stepping up to take charge.

And the youngsters responded to their captain’s call with spirit. Ishant, in particular, tormented Ponting with his swing, and Kumble, heeding Sehwag’s crafty ploy, gave the tall seamer an extended spell in which he picked up the Aussie skipper.

The rest, as everyone knows, is history.

The Indian captain was delighted with the win, and rated it as his best triumph ever. For the record, he picked up his 600^th Test wicket in this very match, and fittingly, it turned out to be Andrew Symonds – the man who sparked off the notoriety in the previous Test. Karma certainly evens things out, doesn’t it?