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Former Indian spinner Anil Kumble reflected on his achievement of reaching 600 Test wickets during the 2008 Perth Test against Australia, describing the moment as important to him and stating that the victory was "the icing on the cake." Kumble shared a photo on twitter, capturing his celebration after taking a wicket in that memorable Test during the 2007-08 tour to Australia. Although India lost the series 2-1, they made history by becoming the 1st & only Asian nation to win a Test match at the famed Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) stadium in Perth.
In the post on X, Kumble wrote, "Came across this picture and it just took me back to 2008, a moment that is very close to me - reaching 600 test wickets. Celebrating the test match win at Perth was the icing on the cake. Forever grateful for that journey and to all those who played a part in it on and off the field."
On this day in 2008, Kumble became the 1st Indian bowler to achieve the 600-wicket milestone in Test cricket. He claimed 4 wickets in the match, taking 2 in each innings while captaining the Indian side.
India won the toss and chose to bat first, scoring 330 runs in their first innings, bolstered by solid fifties from Rahul Dravid (93) and Sachin Tendulkar (71). Australian pacers Mitchell Johnson (4/86) and Brett Lee (3/71) performed wonderfully.
The Australian batsmen struggled against the young Indian pacers, with RP Singh (4/68) and Ishant Sharma (2/34) helping to dismiss them for 212 runs, by leaving them 118 runs behind. Andrew Symonds (66) & Adam Gilchrist (55) provided some resistance to avoid a complete collapse.
In their 2nd innings, India was propelled by VVS Laxman's impressive 79, forming a crucial 75-run partnership with MS Dhoni (38). Irfan Pathan (46) and Virender Sehwag (43) also contributed in a big way, allowing India to reach a total of 294 runs and set Australia a target of 413 runs. Stuart Clark (4/61) was a standout bowler for Australia.
During the chase, the Australians managed to secure half-centuries from Michael Clarke (81) and Mitchell Johnson (50), but they lost wickets persistently. Irfan Pathan (3/54) led an effective bowling attack as Australia was bowled out for 340 runs, that resulted in a 72-run defeat for them.
Later, in that year, during the home series against Australia, Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket, by concluding with 619 wickets in 132 Tests at an average of 29.65, and a best performance of 10/74. He remains the only Indian bowler to take all 10 wickets in one single inning. Total, across all formats, Kumble finished with 953 wickets in 401 matches at an average of 30.06, including 37 five-wicket hauls and eight ten-wicket hauls throughout his career.
Kumble retired as the leading wicket-taker for India in Tests & across all formats.