2 Indian bowlers who were great bowlers against tailenders
At the end of Day one of the fifth Test, India made one of the best comebacks ever as they cleared England's middle order, not letting them run away with the game. The home team were in a great position of strength at one stage with 133 runs on the board for the loss of just one wicket.
But from that point of time, India started the onslaught as at the end of the Day England found them at 198 for 7.
But, Jos Buttler had other ideas as he out of the blues, added 141 for the last three wickets with the tail, as the Indian bowlers were left frustrated by the lower order batsman.
This was not at all a problem 5-10 years ago as there were some masters of cleaning up the opposition's tail in the Indian team. But who were they? Let's find out.
#1 - Anil Kumble
Whenever a team lost its fifth-sixth wicket, all responsibility was on Anil Kumble to wipe off the tail and guess what? He always completed his task without fail.
It was a time when the Indian fans prayed for the first six wickets to fell cheaply as they knew that the tail-cleaner will do his job after that. Famously named Jumbo, Anil had as many as 201 scalps against the tail-enders, most by any Indian bowler.
However, it's an unfortunate fact that the Indian Team has failed to replace the leggie till now as they are finding it difficult to wipe off the tail after his retirement.
#2 - Harbhajan Singh
With 151 wickets of tail-enders to his name, Harbhajan Singh stands only second to Anil Kumble in the leading wicket-takers list of the tail. After Kumble's retirement, it was Bhajji who took the onus of clearing the tail.
Do you remember the famous India vs Australia match at Eden Gardens? Well that match might be remembered for the match-winning innings played by VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in the third innings of the match but Harbhajan's spell in the fourth innings was one of the major reason of India's famous victory as he didn't let any lower-order batsman hang in the middle, wiping off the tail in no time.
The time when Kumble and Harbhajan played, India not even in their dreams would have thought that the runs scored by No. 8,9,10 and 11 will be the difference between the two teams but that's the truth and as an Indian fan, you have to accept it.