A lookback at Kumble’s fantastic 10 Wicket Haul as it gets equaled after 22 years

New Zealand’s left-arm, off-spinner Ajaz Patel on Saturday (December 4) became only the third man in the 144-year history of Test cricket to pick 10 wickets in an innings. The feat was monumental and took the entire cricketing world by storm. Ajaz joined the illustrious company of Jim Laker and Anil Kumble with the latter taking to Twitter to welcome the Mumbai-born Kiwi to the exclusive club.  

Anil Kumble tweeted, “Welcome to the club #AjazPatel #Perfect10 Well bowled! A special effort to achieve it on Day1 & 2 of a test match. #INDvzNZ,” 

After Ajaz Patel did the unthinkable yesterday, it is perhaps the right time to revisit the heroics of Kumble at Delhi’s Ferozshah Kotla (now known as Arun Jaitley stadium) where he lodged his name in the history books. 

The Genesis

22 years ago on February 7, 1999, India squared up against its arch-rivals Pakistan. Like the ongoing India-NZ series, it was a two-match series as well. India had lost the first match in a rather close manner and thus it was redemption time at Kotla.  

Batting first, India managed a meager total of 252, courtesy of handy contributions from Sadagoppan Ramesh and skipper Mohammad Azharuddin. In reply, the Pakistani side was shot down at 172 with the spin duo of Kumble-Harbhajan wreaking havoc. The former picked 4 wickets but the achievement probably dwarfed in front of what was to come later.  

In the second innings, Ramesh once again came to the party and scored a breezy 96. Eventually, India set a daunting target of 420 runs for Pakistan in the fourth innings. Knowing the nature of pitches in the subcontinent, the target was certainly out of reach.  

Read More: Anil Kumble: The Coach Indian Cricket waited for almost a decade

Kumble comes to the party

However, the opening pair of Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar came out in a blaze of glory, slashing and marauding anything that was delivered in their arc. 

The opening duo soon raced to the 100-run partnership and it looked like the Pakistani side was eyeing the glorious. However, things soon took a turn for the worse for the visitors as Kumble was introduced into the attack.  

In the 25th over of the innings, Kumble got the prized scalp of Afridi with Mongia behind the stumps, holding onto a sharp chance. The floodgates were finally opened and Kumble cashed in on the opportunity.  

From 101/0, the scoreboard took an ominous turn as Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in practically no time. The stacked middle order of Pakistan spectacularly crumbled as none of them managed to get into double figures. Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, and Moin Khan were dismissed in quick succession and it looked like Pakistan’s offense was all but done.  

Wasim Akram, the then Pakistani captain dug deep and managed to delay the inevitable for a fleeting second but Kumble struck back and got rid of Saleem Khan on the other end to break open the game once again.  

Read More: Was Ravi Shastri the Mastermind of the Kohli-Kumble Spat?

The story of the final wicket

With Saqlain Mushtaq dismissed as the 9th wicket, the Indian side held a discussion and it was decided that Kumble will only take the final wicket. However, it appears that Sadagoppan Ramesh didn’t hear the instructions as narrated later by Kumble himself.  

 Ramesh went for a catch off Javagal Srinath’s bowling after Waqar Younis’s top-edged one. Kumble remarked on the particular passage of play, “He [Ramesh] was supposed to drop the catch, that was the plan. I don’t think Ramesh heard the team plan, that’s how he is. He probably forgot that I had 9 out of 9 and was looking for the 10th, so he ran for the catch,” 

Eventually, Kumble came up on top and got the inside edge of Akram’s bat which was snaffled up with utmost ease by VVS Laxman standing at short leg. 

The wicket sent the entire team into a delirious mode as Kumble became the second man to achieve the rather unthinkable. India won the match by 212 runs and leveled the series but it all took a back seat, for the contest was rechristened as the “Anil Kumble” game. Jumbo had inflicted a Jumbo kill.