Today on a nearly perfect day for Indian cricket when they piled up their highest score ever versus England, and virtually sealed a Test series win in England after a gap of over twenty years, Kumble became a centurion for the first time.

Reaching the coveted hundred, Kumble also broke the record for having played the most number of Tests (118) before reaching the three figure mark. In the process he also went one-up on his fellow leg spinner and arch rival Shane Warne, who came tantalizingly close (99) but never scored a Test century.

The stroke that saw him to cross the three figure mark was also a fitting one for a man whose batting has exuded the qualities of grit and doggedness rather than style and finesse. A near full toss outside the off stump was picked up early and Kumble moved out of his crease and tried to squeeze it down to third man, one of his most productive scoring areas, but instead managed to get a inside/bottom edge and the ball squirted inwards past the stumps and past a surprised and beleaguered wicketkeeper to the fine leg fence. As the ball darted behind him, Kumble quickly whirled around and dived back into his crease, ever mindful that even if the edge missed the stumps, it may be collected by the keeper and he could be stumped. This scrappiness, this doggedness, this never taking anything for granted, in a way neatly summarizes Kumble’s greatest qualities as a player.

The huge smile and relief on his face when he realized the ball had gone past the keeper to the fence, also indicated how cherished this landmark was to him. Kumble is the only man in the history of the game to score a century and take all ten wickets in an innings in Tests. In an interview after the days play, he confirmed what his team mate Mahendra Singh Dhoni, another batting hero on the day, had said. Kumble had jokingly told the Indian Team’s batsmen in a Team Meeting that somebody had to put their hand up and score a hundred to set up a big total for him and the other bowlers to bowl at. It is quite symbolic of the man that in the end, he himself should be that batsman to score that hundred, India’s only hundred of the series so far. That effort, typifies the man, a one of a kind player, with an insatiable appetite to win and a willingness to do the hard work to make it happen.

Congrats Jumbo, on your maiden century, and here’s to hoping you score a few more, but also hoping you never really need to.

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