Man Of Steel

Kumble’s departure from the one-day scene has robbed Indian cricket of atrait most of his colleagues seem to be low on -- determination. The latest casein point is the World Cup debacle.

True to his nickname ‘Jumbo’, Kumble’s grit to succeed is king-sizedand the figures speak for themselves. He scalped 337 wickets from 271 one-dayersat an average of 30.89. The Test figures read 547 wickets - the first Indian tomanage the feat -- in 113 matches with an average of 28.65.

Be it the batsman ship Kumble displayed with Javagal Srinath in a one-dayeron home turf in Bangalore against Australia to sneak the game from them, the 24wickets he claimed in three Tests on the 2003-04 tour of Australia, the 6-71 atMultan in 2004 to help India register their first series victory in Pakistan orthe six second innings wickets last year that helped India win their firstseries triumph in the Caribbean in 35 years, the list is endless of theinstances that time and again brought forth the veteran leg spinner’s resolve.

For someone who was not a certainty in one-day cricket, Kumble boasts of thebest ODI figure by an Indian bowler. It was in 1993 when he grabbed 6-12 run inthe final of the Hero Cup against the West Indies in Kolkata.

Though he had enough one-day memories to savour, the crowning glory of hiscareer came in the Test arena during the Kotla Test in 1999, when he became theonly second bowler, after England’s Jim Laker, to claim 10 wickets in a Testinnings against Pakistan at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi. The match was inPakistan’s grip, but Kumble snatched it away from the cross-border rivals.

In another remarkable display of character, Kumble returned to the field tobowl, his face strapped after his jaw was fractured by a Mervyn Dillon snorterduring the 2002 Antigua Test, thus making a brave statement.

Despite tremendous success, Kumble had his feet firmly on the ground. At atime when coach Greg Chappell accused some seniors of ‘operating like a mafia’and ‘hammering’ juniors and denying them opportunities, Kumble stayed awayfrom the spotlight, quietly practicing his craft.

His deliveries skid, rather than spin, but perfectly served the team. He doesnot have Muthiah Muralitharan's turn or Shane Warne's guile but his probingaccuracy, variation in pace and the ability to extract bounce from dead pitchessaw him return with respectable figures.

In an era dominated by prodigal turners like Warne and Muralitharan, Kumbleheld his own and earned his place to be bracketed with the two spin legends.

Despite the success early on the in the shorter version and his never-say diespirit, of late Kumble had to play second fiddle and often had to pave way foryounger spin colleague Harbhajan Singh.

In this World Cup too, Kumble played just one match, picking up 3-38 againstBermuda, while Harbhajan was preferred against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Used to being in the thick of action, this was not how Kumble would haveliked to sign off. For once the tough exterior of the Bangalorean displayed ahint of sadness

‘I wanted to go with the ball in my hand. It did not happen in the lastWorld Cup. It feels a bit different to be a part of the team and not play. I washurt at not being a part of the eleven (against Sri Lanka) but took it in mystride. It's always nice to finish on a high note. Unfortunately, it does notseem to happen. There is not always a fairytale end. Hopefully it will happenwhen I leave Test cricket.’