Today marks the 22nd anniversary of Anil Kumble’s 10 wicket-haul against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999. The former Indian skipper picked up all 10 wickets to register one of India’s most memorable Test wins in the country. Remembering the feat, the former Indian left-hander Gautam Gambhir hailed Kumble as India’s greatest ever matchwinner.
It was on February 7, 1999, when Kumble became the first Indian and only the second in the world after Jim Laker to pick up all 10 wickets in an innings of a Test match. The BCCI posted a throwback video of Anil Kumble’s spell against Pakistan. “#OnThisDay in 1999, #TeamIndia spin legend @anilkumble1074 became the first Indian bowler and second overall to scalp all the 10 wickets in a Test innings.”
#OnThisDay in 1999, #TeamIndia spin legend @anilkumble1074 became the first Indian bowler and second overall to scalp all the 10 wickets in a Test innings. đź‘Źđź‘Ź
Watch that fantastic bowling display 🎥👇 pic.twitter.com/OvanaqP4nU
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 7, 2021
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Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir reacted to the video posted by BCCI where he mentioned Kumble’s match-winning abilities. India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.
Anil Kumble India’s Greatest Matchwinner: Gautam Gambhir
The greatest match winner India 🇮🇳 ever had! Take a bow 🙇‍♂️ legend! @anilkumble1074 https://t.co/rNnU637Mz5
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) February 7, 2021
Anil Kumble then came into the attack and took the first wicket on that score. He then struck regular intervals to reduce Pakistan to 128 for 6. His final wicket was then Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram who was dismissed in the 61st over of their innings.
India won the game by 212 runs as Anil Kumble finished with figures of 10/74. Kumble had announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008. He finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.
He is still the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia’s Shane Warne (708). He is currently the head coach of Kings XI Punjab. After his first year with the franchise in 2020, he was retained for another IPL season in 2021.
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