Kumble vs Chandra - a comparison
Anil Kumble, in the course of his ten wicket haul at Kanpur, became only the third Indian bowler to cross the 250 wicket mark
Sankhya Krishnan
27-Oct-1999
Anil Kumble, in the course of his ten wicket haul at Kanpur, became
only the third Indian bowler to cross the 250 wicket mark. Kumble is
the second spinner and first wrist spinner to achieve this feat,
having overhauled the tally of his legendary predecessor from
Karnataka, B.S.Chandrasekhar, in the First Test at Mohali. Since
Kumble is a very similar type of bowler to Chandra, it would be
interesting to compare their careers.
Chandra was the faster of the two, indeed at times he was the fastest
bowler in the side! His stock ball was the top-spinner which fizzed
through and he also bowled the googly but he rarely bowled the leg
break. He extracted a lot of bounce because of his extra pace and his
high arm action. Indeed as Ray Illingworth said he bowled a quicker
one that was a genuine bouncer.
Kumble, like Chandra, is not an orthodox leggie and he too relies on
the ball that nips quickly off the pitch and goes straight on. The
googly is another weapon in his armoury and he used it to devastating
effect at Kanpur.
But while there is not much to choose between their career records,
statistically, Kumble's is slightly better. However while Chandra
succeeded on all types of wickets, Kumble has built up a reputation of
being a match winner on friendly tracks at home that are made to
order.
The comparative figures between the two bowlers make for interesting
reading. Chandra took 242 wickets in 58 Tests at an average of 29.74.
Kumble has taken 253 wickets in 55 Tests at an average of just over
27. Now to the break up of wickets taken at home and away. Chandra
took 142 wickets in 32 Tests at home at 27.69 apiece. Away, Chandra
took 100 wickets in 26 Tests at an average of 32.66. Kumble has played
28 Tests at home in which he has taken 157 wickets at 21.31 apiece. He
has played 27 Tests abroad in which his haul is 96 wickets at an
average of 36.83.
Chandra has taken five wickets in an innings at home eight times and
10 wickets in a match once. The break up is idential for Tests he
played abroad. As regards Kumble, in home Tests, he has taken five
wickets in an innings ten times and ten wickets in a match three
times. Away from home, Kumble has taken five wickets in an innings
four times but has not taken ten wickets in a match even once.
A glance at Chandra's performance abroad shows that he played an
important role in four Indian victories in four different lands. His
6-38 bowled India to victory at The Oval in 1971. He also bagged 6
wkts in an innings in two Indian overseas triumphs in 1976 against New
Zealand at Auckland and West Indies at Port of Spain. And his 12-104
at Melbourne in 1977-78 against an Australia denuded of its Packer
stars was another reminder of his value to the side.
Kumble has shown his mettle abroad as seen during his tour to South
Africa in 1992-93. He followed it up with a brilliant season with
Northants in 1995 when he was the only bowler to top 100 wickets. But
on India's subsequent tour to England in 1996 he failed to reproduce
that form. Though he did have two five wicket hauls in an innings at
Kingston and Port of Spain on the 1997 tour of the Caribbean, he was
by this time largely sorted out by international batsmen who treated
him as a medium pacer.
There have been several ups and downs in Kumble's career since. His
ten wicket haul in an innings against Pakistan earlier this year
should have heralded a new lease of life for Kumble but
disappointingly for him he lost his place in the one day side later in
the year.
While the Kanpur haul will have done Kumble's confidence a world of
good, the Australian tour that follows is the ideal opportunity to
prove that he is not merely a bad-wicket bowler. With the googly now
becoming his main strike delivery and with the challenge of going
one-on-one with Shane Warne in his backyard looming ahead, Kumble is
ready to bowl for a place in the pantheon of Indian spin legends.