On This Day In 2008: Anil Kumble Achieves Magical Feat Of 600 Test Wickets

One of India’s finest ever spinners, Anil Kumble, bagged the magical feat of 600 wickets on January 17, 2008. Kumble, fondly called the ‘Jumbo’ for the extravagant bounce and lift that his top-spinners

generated, became the first and to date the only Indian to record 600 scalps in Test match history.

The great bowler achieved the landmark during the third Test of the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth. Kumble dismissed Australia’s fearsome middle-order star Andrew Symonds for 66 in the first innings on Day 2 of the Test match and raised his arms aloft to celebrate a defining moment of his career.

The No.600 characteristically arrived for Kumble as he got the ball to turn and jump up prodigiously after pitching around the good length region and induced an outside edge while Symonds shaped up for a cut shot. The edge hit the gloves of wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and ricocheted into the hands of Rahul Dravid in the first slip.

As umpire Asad Rauf finally raised his finger to the prolonged Indian appeal, Kumble looked into the heavens above while his teammates, including legends Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, all rushed to hug and congratulate him.

Kumble later picked up the ball and rose it to soak in the warm applause from the crowd at the old WACA Stadium in Perth.

Kumble’s 600th scalp coincided with one of India’s finest ever overseas triumphs and certainly the biggest win of his short but instrumental captaincy tenure. The great bowler led his troops brilliantly and picked up figures of 2 for 42 and 2 for 98, holding an end up masterfully in a low-scoring Test match dominated by the pacers on a quick and bouncy pitch.

It is believed that without Kumble’s leadership, there was a good chance the Perth Test wouldn’t have taken place at all.

Amidst the controversy surrounding the Monkey Gate incident, which led to the initial banning of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, the Indian team and the BCCI had threatened to boycott the series midway unless Harbhajan was given a rehearing and his ban was revoked.

Even as multiple members of the squad felt miffed over the Harbhajan-Symonds feud and the terrible umpire in Sydney and suggested Kumble to pursue the boycott, the captain waited patiently for the matters to resolve and encouraged his team to give a fitting response on the field.

As it panned out, India became the first team to beat the all-conquering Australians on their soil in five years and later pulled off the famous tri-nation ODI series win on their long tour.