Celebrating Anil Kumble's 'Perfect Ten' against Pakistan
![The 49-year-old played 132 Tests from India from which he took 619 wickets](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 577"></svg>)
On this day 21 years ago, Anil Kumble became only the second bowler after England’s Jim Laker to claim all the 10 wicket in a single Test innings. The spinner’s 10/74 in 26.3 overs helped India claim their biggest Test win over arch-rivals Pakistan.
This was a must-win game for India after they lost the first of the two-match series in Chennai. The Indian bowlers bundled out Pakistan for 172 after posting 252 in the first innings. Leading on, Sadgopan Ramesh (96) and Sourav Ganguly (62*) helped post a target of 420 for the visitors.
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In the chase of 420 runs, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar took Pakistan to 101/0 at lunch. But once Afridi was dismissed, wickets kept falling one after the other, courtesy Kumble’s flippers.
"A 'Perfect Ten' isn't something you set out to achieve as a cricketer. I would attribute the events of 7th February 1999 to destiny," Kumble had told BCCI in 2014.
The 49-year-old played 132 Tests from India from which he took 619 wickets – which remains the highest by an Indian in red-ball cricket. In 271 ODIs, Kumble took 337 wickets.
After retirement he has worked as a coach in the Indian Premier League and was also Indian cricket team’s head coach from 2017-18.
Published 07 Feb 2020, 12:42 IST
