Was Anil Kumble really a “tail-killer”?
The Indian team always seems to suffer from an acute problem - the problem of the wagging tail. After getting rid of the top six batsmen, someone in the lower order offering a stern resistance to ruin the best-laid plans of the Indian team is a story often repeated. The best example can be cited from the Nottingham Test of 2014 when Joe Root and number 11 James Anderson stitched a record 198-run partnership for the last wicket against India.
In such times, the Indian fans inevitably have the same thought on their minds, “wish we had Anil Kumble in the side.” India’s number one spin bowler, Anil Kumble, was regarded as the bowler who always slashed through the lower-order of the opponent with ease. The leg-spinner did not impart the whizzing spin like Shane Warne but he hurled his top-spinners and flippers like rockets which destroyed the defences of the clueless batsmen.
Anil Kumble’s bowling speed and subtle variations befuddled the opposition and the tail-enders were regular victims. The legend in his stellar Test career grabbed 619 wickets and picked up 337 wickets in ODIs, the best performance for an Indian bowler in both the formats. It was in the Test format that Kumble earned his reputation for cleaning up the tail. Let us examine whether the legacy has bases or is it just an expression.
Anil Kumble’s career figures:
The Karnataka spinner played a total of 132 Test matches for India in the span of 18 years. He collected 619 victims at a bowling average of 29.65. His best bowling figures, of course, were the miraculous numbers of 10/74 which he recorded in an inning against Pakistan at Delhi. The spectacled Engineer registered 35 five-wicket hauls while playing in whites.
If we divide the total Test wickets taken by Anil Kumble batting-order wise, here is how it tallies up.
The numbers show up that almost one-third of all wickets taken by Anil Kumble included the tail-enders. Being the spinner, Kumble had fewer opportunities against top-order and made the most when he confronted the lower-order batsmen.
The most spectacular aspect of Kumble dismissing the tail was the way in which he sent them back. Of his 201 wickets, 100 were either bowled or leg before wicket. The modes of dismissal offer us an insight into Kumble’s stump-to-stump line and the impeccable bowling style of varying his pace and turn. Before the batsman could bring his bat down, the ball had already castled him or thudded into his pads.
Here is how Anil Kumble fares against his contemporary bowlers.