Anil Kumble: India's 619 Test Wickets, 10 for 74 vs Pakistan — All 10 Wickets in an Innings
Anil Kumble is the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history with 619 wickets at 29.65 in 132 Tests. Born in Bangalore in 1970, he was India's leading wicket-taker across two decades. He is best known for taking all 10 wickets in a single Test innings — 10 for 74 against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, in February 1999 — only the second time in Test history this feat had been achieved (after Jim Laker's 10/53 in 1956). He was a leg-spin and googly bowler who generated unusual bounce and pace for a spinner. He took 337 wickets in ODIs. He retired from Tests in 2008 and served as India's head coach from 2016 to 2017.
Anil Kumble was born on 17 October 1970 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He made his Test debut against England in August 1990. His bowling style was unusual for a leg-spinner: he generated above-average pace and bounce, bowling faster through the air than most leg-spin bowlers, and his googly was among the most effective in the era. He was also a steady lower-order batsman who scored 2,506 Test runs. He took 337 ODI wickets at 30.89 in 271 matches. He bowled through a 2002 Test against West Indies in Antigua with a broken jaw — his jaw was fractured and held together with a bandage — taking Sourav Ganguly's wicket in that condition.
10 for 74: All 10 Wickets in an Innings — Only the Second in History
Anil Kumble's 10 for 74 against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, on 7 February 1999 remains the second-most celebrated bowling performance in Test history after Jim Laker's 19 wickets in the 1956 Ashes. Kumble took all ten Pakistani wickets in a single innings — dismissing Saeed Anwar, Shadab Kabir, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Azhar Mahmood, Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Waqar Younis. Pakistan were bowled out for 207 in the second innings and India won the Test. Kumble had 9 wickets in that innings before Javagal Srinath deliberately allowed a no-ball at Kumble's request so he could bowl the last delivery needed. It was the second time in Test history that a bowler had taken all 10 wickets in an innings; Jim Laker had done it in 1956 vs Australia at Old Trafford.
Career Statistics and Legacy
Kumble's 619 Test wickets at 29.65 place him third on the all-time list after Muralitharan (800) and Warne (708). He took five-wicket hauls 35 times in Tests. He retired from international cricket in November 2008 after the third Test against Australia in New Delhi — taking a five-wicket haul in his final innings. He captained India in 14 Tests in 2007-08 (as interim captain) and served as India head coach from 2016 to 2017 before resigning due to reported differences with captain Virat Kohli. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2015.
Frequently asked questions
How many Test wickets did Anil Kumble take?
Anil Kumble took 619 Test wickets at 29.65 in 132 Tests with 35 five-wicket hauls — the third-most in Test cricket history after Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708). He is the highest wicket-taker in India's Test history. His most famous performance was 10 for 74 against Pakistan in Delhi in February 1999 — only the second time in Test history that a bowler had taken all 10 wickets in a single innings (after Jim Laker in 1956).
Who are the only two bowlers to take all 10 wickets in a single Test innings?
Only two bowlers in Test cricket history have taken all 10 wickets in a single innings: Jim Laker (England), who took 10 for 53 against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956, and Anil Kumble (India), who took 10 for 74 against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, on 7 February 1999. Kumble had 9 wickets before Javagal Srinath deliberately bowled a no-ball at Kumble's request to give him the chance to bowl the final wicket.