Win #13 - Anil Kumble's heroics at Hero Cup

Three days after Sachin's magic at Eden Gardens, India played West Indies at the same ground. The pitch had been used for both the semifinals and hence it had become low and slow. The Indian team was the same that played against South Africa. This time, the batting performance was much better with Vinod Kambli showing the way against the Windies bowling (spearheaded by Curtley Ambrose and supported by the two Benjamins). Sachin Tendulkar played a role of shepherding the team till the end of the innings while there were cameos at the other end by Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble.

Thanks to India Today website for this image

When the Windies batted, Brian Lara opened the innings and he put on a 56 run partnership with the second wicket with Richie Richardson. The partnership was broken by the golden arm of Tendulkar when he clean bowled Lara - this is a dismissal that still sticks out in all minds when the genius of one outshone the other. The stumps went flying and the Windies camp started feeling the pressure.
Anil Kumble's contribution would be much more than the last wicket partnership with Sachin Tendulkar with the bat.

Once Kapil dismissed Richardson and Arthurton, it was the turn to Anil Kumble to demolish the Windies. In the span of six overs (and a ball), Kumble would take the last six wickets to complete the innings and assure a win for the Indians. The noticeable feature of Anil's bowling was that he hardly depended on others for his wickets. Four batsmen were bowled and another LBW. Such was his control and accuracy that the Windies batsmen found it difficult to handle. On a pitch that helped him, all Kumble had to do was create doubts in the minds of the batsmen and be accurate. The Windies had no clue to the bowling and the match was over in no time, giving India the match and Hero Cup.

Thanks to Wikimedia for this image

This would be India's best bowling figures for a long time. Anil Kumble would become the greatest wicket-taker for India and his prowess in cleaning up the tail is missed by the Indian team even till today.