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 In a stirring tale of bravery, ace leg-spinner Anil Kumble fought off acute pain in a broken jaw to bowl 14 overs unchanged and give India a semblance of chance to win the fourth cricket Test against the West Indies by claiming the most important wicket of Brian Lara here yesterday. Seeing part-time bowler Sachin Tendulkar extract turn on a deteriorating third day pitch, Kumble’s keen sense of duty and commitment overcame concern over a fractured jaw to get rid of star batsman Brian Lara and almost scalp skipper Carl Hopper, not once but thrice.
Kumble hit on the jaw by a Mervyn Dillon short-pitched delivery Saturday, took a dose of pain killers and with a heavily bandaged jaw, rehearsed a few times in the dressing room and then jumped into action. As amazed teammates and spectators watched, Kumble, who was to fly back home for surgery, produced dream figures of 14-5-29-1 to force the home team on to the
backfoot.
So moved was legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar that he put Kumble’s act of bravery among cricket’s top tales of valour, and coach John Wright found it inspiring. “I knew I had to go back home because of this injury. I wanted to go home with the thought I tried my best,” was the disarming reply of Kumble barely able to open his mouth.
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