Anil Kumble struggled in ODIs towards the end, but he was the top bowler for India through much of the 1990s
S Rajesh and HR Gopalakrishna30-Mar-2007
Though Anil Kumble’s ODI performances faded away towards the end, he was India’s leading bowler through much of the 1990s © AFP
His greatest moments came in Test match cricket, but Anil Kumble the one-day performer has had plenty to savour too: 337 wickets in 271 matches is no mean achievement, while his 334 scalps in Indian colours is the highest in the all-time list.Kumble played his first ODI on April 25, 1990, as a 20-year-old, and it didn’t take long for him to justify the selectors’ faith in him – in only his third game, a Texaco Trophy match against England at Headingley, Kumble sent down 11 accurate overs (it was a 55-overs-per-side game), nailed David Gower and Robin Smith conceding just 29 runs, and walked away with the Man-of-the-Match award. That didn’t immediately trigger more successes, though – after 30 ODIs Kumble only had 25 wickets at an average of 44.12.Then came the Hero Cup, in November 1993, a tournament in which Kumble truly established himself as a world-class ODI bowler – his 6 for 12 in the final won him his second Man-of-the-Match award, and his 12 wickets in the tournament came at less than 16 apiece. That kick-started a superb run over the next seven years when he was India’s premier bowler, taking nearly 250 wickets at a very good average. That period included the 1996 World Cup, when Kumble led the wicket-takers’ list with 15 from seven matches, outdoing the likes of Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, Curtly Ambrose and Allan Donald.
Before Nov 1993 30 25 44.12 3.98 Nov 1993 – Dec 2000 178 249 27.00 4.24 Jan 2001 – March 2007 63 63 41.03 4.65
Saqlain Mushtaq 129 237 20.21 4.25 Allan Donald 99 171 20.59 4.13 Shaun Pollock 121 179 22.78 3.86 Glenn McGrath 122 183 23.64 3.97 Wasim Akram 156 212 24.69 3.92 Shane Warne 148 228 24.86 4.16 Muttiah Muralitharan 145 207 26.09 4.04 Waqar Younis 124 188 26.13 4.80 Anil Kumble 178 249 27.00 4.24 Chaminda Vaas 146 176 28.63 4.25 During this period, he was also one of the greatest matchwinners with the ball – his stats in victories were better than those for Younis, Muralitharan and Wasim Akram.
Saqlain Mushtaq 67 150 14.55 3.75 Glenn McGrath 71 132 17.84 3.69 Allan Donald 69 131 18.60 4.07 Shaun Pollock 83 135 19.85 3.64 Shane Warne 91 165 20.03 3.86 Anil Kumble 83 141 20.80 3.86 Waqar Younis 69 124 20.88 4.48 Muttiah Muralitharan 84 144 21.05 3.82 Wasim Akram 92 128 21.62 3.68 Javagal Srinath 68 110 22.65 4.17 Since 2001, though, those numbers took a severe beating, as his shoulder injury considerably reduced his accuracy and potency. In his last 63 matches he only managed one wicket per ODI. In the same period, Harbhajan Singh played 136 games, took 152 wickets, and established himself as the leading spinner in the team.Other stats highlights Kumble’s 6 for 12 against West Indies is not only the best by any Indian bowler, it’s also the best by any bowler against West Indies, and the best bowling figures in India. Pakistan is the only team against whom Kumble has taken more than 50 wickets – he has 54 against them from 34 matches, at an average of 24.25. He has struggled the most against Sri Lanka – 34 wickets at 51.41 – England (25 wickets at 46) and Australia (31 at 40.29). (Click here for Kumble’s career summary.) Aravinda de Silva and Ijaz Ahmed have fallen to him most often, seven times. (Click here for the list of batsmen dismissed most often by Kumble.) Nayan Mongia has helped Kumble nail 19 victims – seven catches and 12 stumpings. Eighteen times he has caught batsmen off his own bowling, while Rahul Dravid has pouched 17 catches off Kumble. Of his 337 wickets, 244 have been right-handers, which is more than 72% of his total tally. Kumble has conceded seventy-plus runs on four occasions, and his most expensive bowling figures were against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1998-99, when he returned figures of 1 for 78 in ten overs. In 18 World Cup games he has taken 31 wickets and is one of 11 bowlers who have taken 30-plus wickets in World Cup.