Anil Kumble says he could have registered a 10-wicket haul had DRS been introduced earlier
Spin legend Anil Kumble revealed that he could have registered a 10-wicket haul had the Decision Review System (DRS) been introduced earlier
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Ā
Anil Kumble has revealed he would have registered a 10-wicket haul earlier in his career had the Decision Review System (DRS) been implemented. 'Jumbo' had registered an outstanding 10-wicket haul against arch-rivals Pakistan during the second Test match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. This had happened in the second innings of that edge-of-seat-thriller. Kumble picked up the final wicket of Wasim Akram who was caught by VVS Laxman at forward short-leg as he ended becoming the second bowler after Englishman Jim Laker to take all 10 wickets in an innings.
'I never realised that I will get all 10': Anil Kumble
āWhen I took six out of six, there was a tea break. So when I came back, I was a bit tired. Because I had bowled from lunch to tea, right throughout that spell. And at tea, I realised that there is a chance for me to get better than what I have done before. I never realised that I will get all 10,ā said Kumble while interacting with veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on the latter's official Youtube channel 'DRS with Ash'.
āI donāt think you go into a game thinking you are going to get all 10. Although you try and prepare that way, saying that, how do I bowl from No 1 to No 11 in the team? But you never realise that you will get all 10. So eight and nine happened with the fifth and sixth balls of that over,ā the former Team India head coach added.
āIf there was DRS, everything was out. It was clean out. If there was DRS, I would have probably gotten the 10 earlier. Thatās how I look at it,ā the spin legend added.
1999 Delhi Test match
After having lost the opening Test match at Chennai, it was a must-win match for India to stay alive in the three-match series. Chasing a stiff target of 420 to win the series, the visitors were in the driver's seat as openers Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi had added a century-stand. However, when Kumble made the ball talk, the Pakistani batsmen struggled to negotiate with his spin as they kept losing wickets and in the end, 'Jumbo' single-handedly led India to an emphatic win.