Moments when Kumble made us fall in love with cricket
After his resignation as the coach of the Indian cricket team, there is a chance that we would never see him donning the blue cap in future. However, there have been many moments during his long career which made us fall in love with cricket all over again. Let us have a look at such memorable moments.
Hero Cup Finals
Kumble won the 1993 Hero Cup for India when he picked up six wickets in the finals against West Indies. Even with a line up consisting of Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams and Carl Hooper, the West Indies cricketers failed to read his flippers and fell like a pack of cards. His 6/12 were the best bowling figures by an Indian in ODIs until 2014.
10-wickets against Pakistan
Anil Kumble created history when he picked up all the ten wickets in one innings against Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla and became only the second player after Jim Laker to do so. By picking up 10 wickets for 74 runs, Kumble led India to a win against Pakistan for the first time in 19-years. Nobody has achieved Kumble's feat since then.
Returning to the field with a broken jaw
Even after getting hit on the face while batting against West Indies, Kumble not only played for another 20 minutes with a broken jaw, he then put on a bandage and came on to the field to bowl. On this stupendous effort, Kumble said, "At least I can now go home with the thought that I tried my best."
International century at The Oval
17-years after making debut, Anil Kumble hit his first international century, and that too at The Oval. He was the only Indian batsman to score a century during India's tour to England in 2007, in a team which had Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. His ton helped India draw the match and win the three-match test series 1-0.
Standing by his team against Australia
Anil Kumble captained the India team during 2007-08 and was by its side when the team was a victim of poor umpiring during this tour. With several umpiring decisions going against India, Kumble did not shy away from speaking his mind at the post match conference in Sydney. He said, "Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game."
A silent retirement
Anil Kumble announced his retirement during the tea break on the final day of the test against Australia in Delhi and made a silent exit from the international cricket. He will always be remembered as the player who never gave up.
