Former Indian cricket team legend Anil Kumble stands tall among the greatest bowlers in the history of Test cricket. Kumble represented India in 132 Test matches, claiming an impressive tally of 619 wickets. He remains the leading wicket-taker for India in the longest format of the game. Anil Kumble made his international debut for Team India in the year 1990. During the early phase of his career, he played strictly as a frontline spin bowler, yet he possessed a remarkable natural ability with the bat.
Valuable lower-order contributions and a memorable ton
This innate batting capability is the primary reason why, midway through his career, Kumble played several memorable innings for Team India. This includes his stellar, unbeaten knock of 110 runs against England during a Test match in London. While this milestone marked the first and only century of Kumble's Test career, it simultaneously etched a rather unusual and unwanted record against his name in the record books.
The longest wait for a maiden Test hundred
Although Anil Kumble was never regarded as a frontline or established batsman, he possessed the resilience and skill in the lower order to alter the course of a match with his bat. Across his entire Test career, Kumble accumulated 2507 runs at a strike rate of 38.82, which featured one century and five half-centuries. However, his career-only century arrived during his 151st innings. Consequently, Anil Kumble holds the distinctive record for enduring the longest wait following his debut to score a maiden Test hundred.
An equally stellar One Day International career
Much like his dominance in the red-ball format, Anil Kumble enjoyed an extraordinary ODI career. He stepped onto the field for the Indian team in 271 One Day Internationals. In this limited-overs format, he accounted for 337 dismissals. His best bowling figures in ODIs stand at 6 wickets for just 12 runs. Throughout his ODI career, he achieved the feat of taking five or more wickets in an innings on two occasions. Beyond his primary bowling duties, he also contributed 938 runs with the bat in this format.
