That time when Anil Kumble bowled with a broken jaw

One thing in Indian cricketing history that has left its mark is the sight of a bandaged Anil Kumble getting the wicket of perhaps one of the best batsmen to have ever lived, Brian Lara. However, in spite of the video playing time and again on different mediums, Kumble has never shared the secret of how he braved the odds to come out and bowl.

Kumble jested, “I got (Brian) Lara out. Probably because he looked at my bandaged face and didn’t really focus on watching the ball I bowled. Maybe, I scared him that way. Watch the video. Every time you hit the pad in front, you appeal. It doesn’t matter whether you can open your mouth or not.”

The 45-year old felt, “It was banged in short and I lost it. It hit me on the jaw and I felt something was missing when I swirled my tongue around in my mouth. I felt something was wrong. Andrew Leipus (Physio) came to the middle and there was blood spewing all over the place. I asked him to take a look and he said my teeth were all in place, nothing missing.”

“I was then taken to the local hospital for an X-ray, and they had no facility to do an oral X-ray. They made me lie down and shot the X-ray film from where they could. And the image was so vague that it could barely capture the eye sockets, forget about a crack in the jaw.“

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Dr. Jamula, the doctor on duty at the time stated that he was in shock when Kumble asked him whether he could go out and bowl. “Honestly, I was a bit surprised by his reaction. As soon as I wired him up inside his mouth, something changed in his expression. He told me he didn’t feel pain anymore and funnily enough was standing up and rolling his arm over, trying to see whether he could bowl.”

He affirmed, “I know Dillon (who delivered the knockout bouncer) came and spoke to me and so did others. But it’s all a bit of a blur. I don’t really remember that part.”

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