The Legend - a Tribute

What a weekend for sports. One of most exiting finish in the history of F1 races where the world champion of 2008 remained a secret for last 5 seconds. England were beaten by Stanford superstars to win whopping $20 million. But one event which every cricket follower in India would remember for a long time would be the retirement of Indian Cricket Test Captain, Anil Kumble!

I still remember the day i became fan of Anil Kumble. It was finals of Titan cup against South Africa! The unbeatable side then. Tendulkar was captain. India were on the verge of victory and Kumble was bowling his 10th over and last man was @ crease. He happened to be Allan Donald. Till then i was fan of Anil Kumble just because he hails from my state. The commentator guy was praising Anil Kumble. For a second i wondered if the commentator was exaggerating a bit. The last ball of his spell changed my view about the Great Gem of India for ever. Sachin took all the time in the world to clean the ball with his handkerchief to remove every trace of the dew. I was murmuring "Just finish the match. It is the last wicket and India will win". And Anil bowled last ball of his spell and little Donald could do! The ball was unplayable and it ricocheted into the wood work. ( India used to lose many matches then ) India have beaten South Africa and clinched Titan Cup. The ball pitched outside the off stump. The batsman came forward to defend. The ball took a sharp turn and it's next stop was the middle stump! That one ball made me realize what a great bowler he is!

There is endless list of his achievements. The Jaw dropping moment when he bowled with broken jaw and took two wickets ( took Hooper off a No Ball ). And who can forget his amazing 10 wkts in an inning feat against Pakistan. He was the lone century maker when India last toured England.

When he called it a day, what a send off he got from fellow players. He bowled first ball of his last innings after shaking hands with Australians. I have never seen any cricket player getting that sort of farewell. It is irony that the person who is going to take over captaincy from Anil's shoulder carried Anil on his should for a 'farewell' lap through Kotla ground. This series was supposed to see grand farewell of our 'Dada' (we'll see it next week). Kumble became 1st of the fab 5 to go! And he signed off with a spectacular catch of his own ball despite injured finger. Hat's off to you Kumble! You are one of the legends of modern cricket. See you in second season of IPL.