Back in 1998, captain Mark Taylor famously declared Australia's Test innings while batting on 334 against Pakistan as he did not want to surpass the great Sir Don Bradman. Now, an Indian cricketer is keen to pay a similar tribute to another legend of the game.
It was in Peshawar in October 1998 that Taylor chose to return to the pavilion unbeaten on 334. At the time Bradman held the highest individual score record by an Australian in a Test. The great batsman had scored 334 in Leeds against England in 1930. It was later broken by Matthew Hayden who scored 380 against Zimbabwe in Perth in 2003.
"I have equalled Sir Donald Bradman's record and that is more than satisfying for me. The [Brian Lara] record (375) doesn't mean anything. I'd prefer to win this game, that's what I'm here for," Taylor had said.
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Taylor's decision could not result in a win as Pakistan replied with a big score and the match was drawn. Australia declared their first innings at 599/4 and the hosts made 580/9 declared. In the second essay, Australia reached 289/5.
India's ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wants to pay a similar tribute to former captain and leg-spin great Anil Kumble.
Ashwin, who is currently not in the Indian limited-overs side, said if he takes 618 Test wickets, one less than Kumble, he will retire from five-day matches.
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"Defintely not, I am a big fan of Anil Kumble and he has got 619 wickets and, if I get to 618 wickets, I will be very thankful too and, if I get to 618, that will be my last Test match," Ashwin was quoted as saying by Dubai's "Gulf News" when asked whether he was eyeing Kumble's mark.
In his 52 Tests so far, the 31-year-old Ashwin has claimed 292 wickets at an average of 25.26. He has 26 five-wicket and seven 10-wicket hauls. In 111 ODIs, he has bagged 150 wickets while accounting for 52 batsmen in 46 T20Is.
Many more happy returns of the day @anilkumble1074 , you have always been an inspiration and will continue to be so for years to come.?
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) October 17, 2017
Kumble, who recently celebrated his 47th birthday, is India's highest wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs. He took 619 wickets from 132 Tests and scalped 337 wickets from 271 ODIs.
He served as India's head coach for one-year period before stepping down following differences with captain Virat Kohli. His last assignment was ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in June in England where India lost the final to Pakisan.
