As Ian Chappell very aptly put it, it was one of the most popular centuries of modern test cricket, not because it was a breath-taking collection of shots all around the ground, but because it came to one of the nicest known players in the modern era. Anil Kumble aka Jumbo is someone who will give more than 100% every time his captain asks for it. He is a competitor, and a fierce one, but never will you see him abusing the opponent, or showing his discontent to the umpire. The competition is limited to cricket and that is what earns him the respect in the cricketing world. A clear indication of this was the joy in the Indian team’s balcony when Kumble reached his 100. Even English players had to come and congratulate him. And the fact that he led the teams to the pavilion after the Indian innings folded, said it all. He has taken 17 long years and 118 tests to reach there, and he probably will never be known for his 100. Kumble has been one of India’s greatest players overshadowed by the dynamism of Sachin, Dravid and Sourav. Cricket is a sport where batsmen are always given due respect since they entertain, but bowlers somehow remain overshadowed. When this series began, everyone was focusing on this being the last tour of England for Sachin, Dravid, Sourav and Laxman. What we all ignored was that this probably is also the last time a champion bowler like Anil Kumble is playing there. We always forget that Kumble has probably won more test matches for India with his bowling than all of the other 4 put together have done with their batting. Sure he has taken bulk of his wickets in the subcontinent, but he made India such a champion team at home, that the Australians had to name India “the last frontier”. Over the years he has proven that he can bowl in South Africa, Australia, West Indies and England with equal panache that he can do in India. The misfortune of this great bowler has been that he never had enough runs on the board to be able to dominate the opposition away from home. Take a look at matches where India has scored heavily in the first innings abroad, and you will find that Kumble is as lethal as he is in the subcontinent. And he has been as instrumental in India’s solid overseas performances as he has been in India.
Most of the media had ignored that Kumble was playing for the last time against England in England, and it was fitting that he reminded us and everyone that he has been an integral part of this team over the past 15 years or so, and he reminded us the way we want to remember it. He hit a ton, which none of the fab 4 of India did in this series, and yet again showed that he is a fighter. Now that the Indians have 664 on board, I wish he finishes with a test match winning bowling performance, and reminds us yet again of the importance and the achievements of this unheralded hero of Indian cricket. That should be an appropriate finale to this series, where the Indian team seems to have redefined itself.
1 comment:
rightly said..that Kumble was/is overshadowed by the entertaining prowess of the batsmen.
But,i would like to draw your attention towards our neighbours Pakistan.Well, i dont know much about cricketing in Imran Khan's time, but i do know how he was/is regarded as a national hero and i beleive much of it came even before he led his team to WC victory in 91.Well,we all know it was his bowling tat he was regarded for..
in recent times, Shoaib has tried unsucessfully though, to carry tat mantle.There were many more Bowlers who the Pakistanis felt were probably more entertaining than their batsmen
A couple of years ago, when India toured and rogered pakistan in their home soil, the Pakistani folks and the their media heralded Balaji as one of the heroes of the tournament- that was perhaps his 15 minutes of fame. We just forgot about him after that.
Post a Comment