Perth, Jan 17: Anil Kumble became the first Indian bowler and the third in the world to reach the milestone of 600 wickets in the third cricket Test against Australia here on Thursday.
Kumble achieved the record just after the tea break when he had Andrew Symonds caught by Rahul Dravid at first slip.
Symonds edged the ball which hit Dhoni`s gloves and went up in the air before Dravid pouched it safely.
Symonds stood his ground while umpire Asad Rauf took some time to raise his finger even as the appeal grew louder. When the decision finally came in India`s favour, Kumble heaved a sigh of relief amidst the applause from the crowd.
In a friendly gesture, Adam Gilchrist shook hands with Kumble and congratulated him.
Kumble`s 600 wickets came in 124 matches at an average of 28.68. He is the third bowler after Sri Lanka`s Muttiah Muralitharan (723) and Shane Warne (708) of Australia to reach the milestone.
Interestingly, in his career Kumble has captured most number of wickets against Australia. He has taken 104 Australian scalps in 17 matches at an average of 27.5.
Kumble took his 100th wicket in his 21st Test while Shane Warne took 23 Tests to reach the milestone. Number 200 for Kumble came in the 47th when Warne did it in his 42nd test. 300 was achieved by Kumble in 66th Test whereas Warne got their in 63 Tests.
Kumble reached the 400th wicket in his 85th Test while Warne took 92 tests to get there. The 500 figure mark was crossed by Kumble in his 105th Test while Warne was a little slower behind to achieve the feat in 108 Tests. The 600 mark was touched by Jumbo in his 124th Test beating Warne’s mark of 126 Test matches.
Anil Kumble has broken all records that a bowler can dream of. He is just the 4th bowler in the history of Test cricket and the only Indian to have captured 5 wickets or more in a Test innings over 30 times. He is only the second bowler in Test matches to have taken all ten wickets in an innings. His first 50 Test wickets took 10 Test matches, which is the fastest by an Indian bowler.
Kumble is statistically India’s best bowler ever, having taken 600 of the 1960 wickets that India have taken in Test matches, including a third of the team`s wickets at home, i.e. 343 of the 977 wicket.
Bureau Report
