From 1990 to 2010, India cricket produced several match-winning batsmen who amassed million runs cumulatively in international cricket, across all formats.
The Indian team was blessed to have the services of its ‘Fab four’ – Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. With the likes of Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh blossoming into quality batsmen, Indian team turned out to be a batting powerhouse.
However, the vast contributions of India’s batting stalwart often eclipsed the single-handed match-winning abilities of Anil Kumble.
Since making his debut against England in 1990, Kumble ended up as giant of the game, with 956 international wickets to his name.
The leg-spinner from Karnataka became the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket; remains the highest-wicket taker for India thus far.
In 1999, Kumble became only the second cricketer to clinch all ten wickets in an innings, after Jim Laker. Kumble picked all ten Pakistani wickets during the Ferozshah Kotla Test match.
Now, former Indian speedster Ashish Nehra was handed the uphill task of picking the biggest match-winner for India with the ball.
There, he had no hesitation in picking the Karnataka legend as the biggest match-winner produced by India with the ball.
“First time I saw him was on television only when Anil Kumble was playing for India. He had those huge glasses, but as you keep on playing your face, mannerisms and style keeps changing every 5-6 years. But I would definitely agree that with the ball, he was India’s biggest match-winner,” Nehra said on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.
In the same chat show, ex-Australia pacer, Brett Lee, chimed in with his take on Kumble after watching him for the first time.
“When he first started playing cricket, a bit like [Daniel] Vettori with the glasses on, a bit like a university student with the look with the glasses. He looked a bit shy and timid but 619 wickets later, 130-odd Tests, a legend of the game but a legend of a guy,” Lee said.
