[Watch] When Anil Kumble hit his only Test century against England in London
Today marks the 16th anniversary of a famous Test knock by legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble. His 110* against James Anderson and Co. at the Kennington Oval in London came in 2007 on this date.
It was the 3rd Test of the three-match away series against England in 2007. India were up 1-0 going into the series finale.
On a decent batting pitch, the visitors batted first and got off to a great start, with middle-order batters also contributing decently. While opener Dinesh Karthik (91) laid a solid foundation with a classy knock. The iconic trio of Rahul Dravid (55), Sachin Tendulkar (82), and VVS Laxman (51) hit half-centuries and built the innings further on a decent foundation.
Anil Kumble entered the crease at the fall of Sachin Tendulkar's wicket, with the scoreboard reading 417/6. MS Dhoni (92) and Kumble stitched a 91-run partnership for the seventh wicket to help India cross the 500-run mark.
After Dhoni's departure, Anil Kumble took over the baton and batted sensibly in the company of Zaheer Khan (11), RP Singh (11), and S Sreesanth (35) to notch up his maiden century in Test cricket.
His 193-ball knock was studded with 16 fours and a solitary six. Anil Kumble remained unbeaten till the end as India got all-out for a mammoth total of 664 after playing 170 overs.
You can watch Kumble's memorable knock in the video below:
Anil Kumble also picked up five wickets in the match to help India bag a rare Test series win in England
England could only score 345 runs in reply to India's gigantic total in the first innings. After a magnificent batting performance, Kumble turned up with the ball and scalped three wickets.
India then declared their second innings at 180/6 and set a target of 500 for the home team in the final innings. Kevin Pietersen (101) hit a century and rallied the England batting unit as they put on a better performance and reached 369/6 to draw the match.
Rahul Dravid-led Team India went on to lift the trophy as they won the series by a 1-0 margin.