Revisiting Anil Kumble's 10 wickets in an innings

What do you do when your closest friend is deliberately underplaying so that you can achieve a rare milestone that is sure to go down in history? Don’t worry this is just another story from the cricket field.

Let us go back to February 1999. I was less than a year old back then but when I grew up enough to understand the game I made sure I watched the complete footage of another special India versus Pakistan encounter. An occasion that everybody on the ground that day and for that matter, every Indian sports fanatic will absolutely cherish.

But there is a little backdrop to this. Pakistan touring India was a huge thing in 1999 and not only International Cricket but the world had their eyes on this tour.

Everyone had their opinions on the series - the politicians, the diplomats, filmmakers - yes there were short films and documentaries being made and it was not only about the cricket anymore because there were so many emotions and dimensions to this particular series.

Pakistan beat India in the first Test at Chennai and if one has followed Indian Cricket closely - that has to be one of the most heart-wrenching defeats in Indian history. India lost by just 12 runs. Chasing 271 runs to win, India were bundled out for 258 runs despite 136 runs from Sachin Tendulkar alone.

Immediately after Tendulkar got out, no batsman applied himself in the middle. One of those lower-order batsmen who failed to get India over the line in Chennai is the protagonist of this story - Anil Kumble.

The second Test was at Delhi and as stats will tell you, Kumble loved bowling at this venue perhaps because it suited his style of bowling. It was in Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla a few years back that he had earned his nickname Jumbo from Navjot Siddhu because of the extra bounce he got. That name came to define him throughout his cricketing career.

Kumble celebrates his 10th wicket

In the Delhi Test, once again India is on the driver’s seat and lead Pakistan by more than 400 runs as Pakistan batsman set out to do the improbable. However, they get off to a good start and stitch a 101 run stand for the first wicket before the first wicket fell in the form of Afridi.

Caught Mongia bowled Kumble. The wound of Chennai was fresh in his heart. It had been hurting him ever since. Kumble then picked up wicket after wicket to enter the Pakistani tail.

Nobody is thinking about the world record even at this point in time but when he picked up the 7th & 8th wickets, everyone started anticipating the record. And as Kumble removed Saqlain Mushtaq for a first ball duck to pick up his 9th, there was a buzz around the ground.

Time to go back to the question I asked you in the beginning. What would you do when your friend is deliberately underplaying so that you can achieve a rare milestone?

Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath had seen each other grow as cricketers - having played for Karnataka together and now representing the country. When Kumble was on 9 wickets, Srinath had to bowl from the other end.

How would you react if you were Srinath? Like most of us would have done, Srinath intentionally bowled wide of the stumps and Pakistan survived that over.

It was Kumble’s turn once again and he knew he had to pick up a wicket this over. As he later told, his friend and teammate’s act of bowling wide of the stumps had put enormous pressure on him to finish off the innings.

What if he did not manage to pick up a wicket in this over? Will Srinath continue with his wide ball tactic? What if he doesn’t get the 10th wicket at all? Battling with such questions in his mind - Kumble relied on his strength, got the third ball of his over to bounce a little more off the deck - as is so typical of Jumbo, got Wasim Akram’s glove on it and the ball was safely pouched by Laxman.

He had done it and guess what it was Srinath who was the happiest!

Anil Kumble became only the second player in the history of the game to pick up 10 wickets in an innings. 10 wickets for 74 runs - one of the finest spells from India’s highest wicket-taker in Test Matches.