Would have been embarrassing to ask Srinath to bowl one more over to aid 10-wicket haul, feels Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble, who took a ‘perfect 10’ against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999, revealed that it would have been embarrassing for him to ask Srinath to bowl one more non-threatening over to help him pick 10 wickets. Srinath bowled an over filled with negative tactics to help Kumble claim the ‘perfect 10’.
On February 7, 1999, India’s premier leg-spinner Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket, after Jim Laker, to take all ten wickets in a single innings, when he achieved that remarkable feat against Pakistan in Delhi. With Pakistan chasing 420 in the fourth innings on a tricky wicket that aided spinners, Kumble ripped through the batting line-up of his arch-enemies to create history.
However, the over prior to Kumble completing the ‘perfect 10’, bowled by his good friend Javagal Srinath, was both hilarious and astonishing. With Kumble stranded on 9 wickets, and with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis at the crease, Srinath tried his best to bowl as wide off the stumps as he could and remarkably escaped the over without taking a wicket. In the very next over, the stars aligned for Kumble as he dismissed Wasim Akram to complete the ‘perfect 10’.
Recollecting the memorable moment, in an Instagram chat with Pommie Mbangwa, the legendary leg-spinner admitted that it would have been embarrassing for him to request Srinath to bowl another charity over and claimed that he was relieved to have taken the 10-fer in his 27th over.
“After tea, I got 7, 8 and 9. And finished my over and Javagal Srinath had to bowl one, that was probably the toughest he had to bowl,” Kumble told Pommie Mbangwa during an Instagram chat, reported Hindustan Times.
“He had to unlearn all his skills and bowl wide. But I didn’t ask him, believe me. I thought, ‘Let’s give Wasim a single.’ But I thought I had to get one that over, because it would have been embarrassing to ask one more. I was just destined. One down in a series, against Pakistan, just so special.”
Kumble then delved deep into his spell, which read 26.3-9-74-10, and claimed that it was a very special moment for him. The leg-spinner further added that he felt that he was most effective on two-paced wickets.
“It’s like it’s happened yesterday for me. It was special. It was pressure because Pakistan came to India after so long. We had to win at Kotla to square the series. I think I am most effective when the wicket is two-paced and there is uneven bounce.
“Till lunch, Pakistan had got off to a great start. I knew it was a matter of one wicket. After lunch, I changed ends. I got 1, then 2, and then it went on and on. I bowled non-stop from lunch to tea, but I was getting tired. I knew I had a great chance to better my previous best because I was six on six.”
Kumble’s magic-10 has not been eclipsed by any other bowler in the last 21 years, with Muttiah Muralitharan (twice) and Keshav Maharaj coming close to it with nine-wicket hauls.
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