Krumbled! 1 man, 10 wkts, 5 yrs ago

We were under a lot of pressure after losing the first Test and this was almost a do-or-die situation for us. After Afridi was out, we knew there was a chance and someone had to do it. It was Anil’s day, truly magnificent.

In my opinion it was Kumble’s best-ever performance. Not just because he got 10 wickets in a single innings but also because of the line and length he maintained and the confidence he showed.

Moreover, luck also seemed to be with him. There was also a bit of superstition involved. At one stage, when Pakistan were going strong, Sachin Tendulkar walked up to Anil, took his cap and sweater and gave it to the umpire. Just after that, Afridi fell. Thereafter, Sachin would take Kumble’s sweater and cap before every over and give it to the umpire.

Though Afridi’s scalp raised a lot of doubts, because the ball appeared to have missed the bat, umpire Jayprakash took a firm decision — and I feel it was the right one. In fact, I feel all the dismissals were quite appropriately judged and it was Kumble’s match, all the way. Afridi walked off cursing, but he was the only batsman to do so. There was no sledging at all; just some friendly chat and some banter that is there every time we play Pakistan. The victory was the most thrilling one that I’ve seen at any time in my career. We were really frustrated when the openers were going well. Once Afridi was out, we actually started to push ourselves in.

— K Shriniwas Rao

It was in his kismat

SHAHID AFRIDI

It seemed as if Anil Kumble was destined to take 10 wickets that day —everything seemed to be going in his favour. From the umpiring to the pitch, everything suited him to a T. The Kotla had a typical subcontinental wicket with a bit of turn; the crowd added to the atmosphere.

But the Test was quite clearly Kumble’s and I still remember the day he took his 10-for. We were batting in the second innings and needed a huge total (420) to win. Saeed Bhai (Saeed Anwar) and I decided to go for it and took chances and had already passed 100. But once I got out everything went awry. By the way, my bat was nowhere near the ball but I was given out caught by Mongia.

That was enough to start a huge collapse. The umpiring decisions went from bad to worse. I remember four wrong verdicts, including the one involving me. As each batsman got out, we would return and look at the replays and say: ‘‘Arre phir galat decision diya.’’

We were angry, but there was no use grudging Kumble his haul. It was his day and he did his part by bowling nicely and also kept a tight line and length, even when Saeed Bhai and I were hitting.

I often say it was Kumble’s kismat that he picked up 10 wickets. I mean how often do you see anyone picking up 10 in an innings. Somebody had to do it and Kumble seemed to be the chosen one. Truly an achievement and I said so to Kumble as well when I congratulated him at the end of it all.

— Chandresh Narayanan