Kumble - a fighter to the finish
All good things come to an end, but endings are usually sad, and it was emotional for me to see Anil Kumble bowling his last over in Test cricket for India.
An injury to his left hand limited his participation in the third Test against Australia and prompted him to call it a day immediately after .
He bowled with a heavily bandaged left hand in Delhi after receiving 11 stitches and he will be remembered for his bravery as well as for his immense skill.
Who can forget his spell against West Indies in Antigua in 2002 when he after originally planning to fly home to India to have it operated on.
Once he that Sachin Tendulkar was getting the ball to turn and a possible Indian victory was in sight, he decided to ignore the pain, got Brian Lara's wicket and left the field only when the chance of an Indian win was gone.
Such was the courage of the man - he has always been a fighter and lived up to it even in his last outing
The thing that separates Kumble from other great Indian bowlers was his ability to win Test matches on his own. Give him a turner and he would almost guarantee an Indian victory with a bagful of wickets.
In the early part of his career, he was criticised for being a one-dimensional bowler and was considered lethal only on turning Indian wickets.
He took that criticism on the chin and continued to add variety to his bowling so that he eventually became a threat in all conditions, home or abroad. His outstanding performances in Australia underlined his growth as an all-round champion bowler.
Kumble was a little off-colour in his last couple of series and being a thorough professional, he knew his time was up. In one of his columns prior to this series, he wrote that he would go out on his own terms and he did just that.
The match in Delhi was dominated throughout by the batsmen and we witnessed only 22 wickets falling in five days. Not a pleasant sight for the spectators.
and further exposed the ineffectiveness of this Australian attack.Both of them batted with a lot of patience and panache.
Gambhir has come of age as a Test cricketer and his back-to-back centuries showed his hunger for runs. Laxman has had a liking for the Australian attack for quite some time and it is no wonder they rate him so highly.
This was the first time two batsmen scored double centuries in one innings against an Australian team led by Ricky Ponting which says a lot about how lacklustre their bowling in general has been and how much they've been missing a quality world-class spinner.
Australia had to bat out of their skins to save the game and they did exactly that. Each player applied himself and ensured that wickets didn't fall in a heap. Despite just one century in their reply, the Australians managed to string together enough partnerships to keep India at bay.
The injury to Kumble during the match and Harbhajan Singh before it, resulting in him missing the game, meant India needed someone else to shine. Virender Sehwag did exactly that and took his first five-for on his home ground.
I rate Sehwag as more than just a part-time spinner because he has a lovely body action and puts a lot of rotations on the ball when he bowls. The rough outside the off-stump was assisting the off-spinner more than anyone else and that made me wonder what would have happened had Harbhajan been fit - it might have been a different story altogether.
Unfortunately, 'ifs' and 'buts' don't matter in sport.
Once the Australians scored 577 in their first innings, the match was going only one way - a dull draw. There was never enough time left in the match nor enough life in the track to provide any other result.
Australia salvaged some lost pride after the defeat in Mohali but there's still a lot to be done if they are to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy and they will have to force the issue in the final Test.
Nagpur, the venue for the last Test match, might bring back some happy memories for Australia as this is where they . But the Vidharbha Cricket Association has built a new stadium since then and this will be the first Test match played there.
No-one really knows how the track is going to behave but with the trophy up for grabs, we can expect a hard-fought battle.
Aakash Chopra opened the batting for India in 10 Tests, forming an all-Delhi combination with Virender Sehwag during India's tour of Australia in 2003-04. He also made his mark as an exceptional bat-pad fielder. He writes columns for the Hindustan Times and Cricinfo. He recently wrote Beyond the Blues, out in December, his season diary for Delhi's 2007-08 championship season.
Comment number 1.
At 3rd Nov 2008, chris1960r wrote:A fine bowler, who in almost any other era would have been recognised as great.
619 Test wickets, with 10 in an innings - magnificent achievements which have only partly been overshadowed by the likes of Warne and Murali.
A very approachable and likeable man too.
Best of luck Anil... and good luck to India in trying to fill the gap he leaves.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 3rd Nov 2008, stevieeng34 wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 3rd Nov 2008, fairandbalancedfan wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
At 4th Nov 2008, emsti wrote:I thought the article was about Kumble, it kind of meandered off course to the next test with no mention of Kumble in the last paragraphs
Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
At 4th Nov 2008, ChelseaSaffer wrote:What else could be said of such a great embassador to the game? The man is a absolute legend. His name and image will always be synonymous with everything that's good and positive with the game of cricket. All of the best Anil!!!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 5)
Comment number 6.
At 4th Nov 2008, tigerSimha wrote:"The greatness of any human being is that how he embraces the challenges posed during the various stages of life" and how correct this statement would be when we relate this to this wonderful sportsman- rather this cricketer who has served the game with utmost dedication leaving no stone unturned in becoming one of the finest bowlers of the world cricket. His emergence as a great spinner- even though he was not a great turner of the ball and adding more variety and spice to his armoury to benevolantly answer the critics cleary indicates that he was a country's delight and a boon to the wonderful game of cricket. His success has not come in a day - rather it was a well written saga over a preiod of time and this will certainly pose an important question to the selectors for an apt replacement - even though we hope Amit Mishra should strike the chord consistently. Humble salutations "Kumble" and you stint in the arena of cricket has been a passport to successs and you along with the greats of warne and murali are true Ambassadors of Spin world and cricket. Cheers..
Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)
Comment number 7.
At 4th Nov 2008, matt2493 wrote:Chelsea saffer is that similar to him being an ambassador.
He was a truly great bowler and was unlucky to be overshawdowed by warne and murali
Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)
Comment number 8.
At 4th Nov 2008, FAIRPLAY wrote:A GREAT SPINNER, A GOOD SKIPPER, A TEAM PLAYER AND WHAT A GENTLEMEN !
THE SPORT WILL REMEMBER YOU A LONG TIME AFTER YOU HAVE GONE.
CONGRATULATIONS KUMBLE !
WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT IN THE ADMISINTRATION OF WORLD CRICKET !!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 8)
Comment number 9.
At 4th Nov 2008, intellectualAdam wrote:Nice article Aakash!! It is sad to see him go!!
A great without a shadow of doubt!!
Just hearing of Gambhirs ban being upheld. Akash, How do you rate your chances of being called up for the final test? Some pundits have you as one of the favorites, do tell us ??
Complain about this comment (Comment number 9)
Comment number 10.
At 4th Nov 2008, Paul G - ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Sport wrote:khansha (message 4) - allow me to defend Aakash here. He wrote an original version of this piece and I then asked him for a few more paragraphs about Kumble. Because of time pressures caused by him playing in a match for Delhi, the joining of the two was down to me. If it doesn't read as well as you'd like, blame me.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 10)
Comment number 11.
At 4th Nov 2008, piscean_sa wrote:"Give him a turner and he would almost guarantee an Indian victory with a bagful of wickets".
Kumble used to take wickets but he hardly turned the ball.
And he got 10 wickets at Kotla(Delhi) with the help of umpire Jaya Prakash who was officiating in that match.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 11)
Comment number 12.
At 4th Nov 2008, mckav6 wrote:Kumble is was a great teams man and human being and he will be remember for the 10 wickets he took in a innings but for me he will be remember for that century he scored against England absolute legend.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 12)
Comment number 13.
At 4th Nov 2008, cricketlove wrote:KUMBLE WAS UNDOUBTEDLY GREATEST SPINNER OF INDIA AND ONE OF THE TOP THREE SPINNERS OF THE WORLD CRICKET. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING ON 'PISCEAN'S COMMENT ON THIS BLOG... I AGREE THAT KUMBLE HARDLY TURNED THE BALL BUT STILL HE MANAGED TO TAKE 619 WICKETS AND THATS NOT A JOKE BY ANY MEANS. AND BAGGING TEN WICKETS IN A TEST INNINGS WITH THE HELP OF AN UMPIRE ISNT POSSIBLE. IT WAS HIS CLASS WHICH HELPED HIM ACHIEVING THIS FEAT. SO THINK TWICE MR. PISCEAN BEFORE COMMENTING SUCH THINGS ABOUT SUCH A GENTLEMAN CRICKETER.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 13)
Comment number 14.
At 5th Nov 2008, vishyv wrote:KUMBLE UNDOUBTEDLY A VERY SEASONED
CRICETER INDIA HAD PRODUCED.BUT OUR WISH WAS THAT HE OVERTOOK MUTHIAH OF SRILANKA. BUT INJURY AND AGE CURTAILED HIS COMMITMENT TOWARDS THE GAME. I EXPECT THAT HE CONTRIBUTES WITH REGARD TO ADMINISTRATION OF CRICKET
Complain about this comment (Comment number 14)
Comment number 15.
At 6th Nov 2008, FatRadioMan wrote:An unsung hero.
A gentleman.
A hard working professional.
Anil, you will be missed.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 15)
Comment number 16.
At 7th Nov 2008, DrCajetanCoelho wrote:Wishing Anil Bhai all the very best in life.
Dr. Cajetan Coelho
Complain about this comment (Comment number 16)
Comment number 17.
At 12th Nov 2008, Joellovesleeds wrote:Gone out on a high which is good thing for him good luck to him
One of the best spinners ever
Complain about this comment (Comment number 17)