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          Anshul Kamboj becomes third bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings in Ranji history

          Anshul Kamboj, on IPL debut, got the better of Mayank Agarwal AFP/Getty Images
          • Shashank Kishore
          Nov 15, 2024, 07:47 AM

          Anshul Kamboj, the Haryana fast bowler, became only the third cricketer in Ranji Trophy history to pick all ten wickets in an innings. Kamboj achieved this feat on Thursday, the third day of the fifth round of matches of the 2024-25 season, when he dismissed Kerala's Shoun Roger at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli.

          Kamboj, who began the day needing two more wickets for the feat, finished with figures of 30.1-9-49-10. These are the best figures by a Haryana bowler in Ranji history, eclipsing Joginder Sharma's previous best of 8 for 24 against Vidarbha in 2004-05.

          Other than Kamboj, the two others to have achieved the feat of taking all ten wickets in an innings in Ranji Trophy are Bengal's Premangsu Chatterjee in 1956-57, and Rajasthan's Pradeep Sunderam in 1985-86. Overall, Kamboj is just the sixth Indian to achieve this feat in first-class cricket; the others are the legspin-bowling pair of Subhash Gupte and Anil Kumble (in a Test vs Pakistan, in Delhi, in 1999), and Odisha seamer Debasis Mohanty. Kumble is also one of only three bowlers in international cricket to have taken a ten-for in the same innings, getting it either side of England's Jim Laker and New Zealand's Ajaz Patel.

          Kamboj comes from boxing heartland Karnal in Haryana, and began playing cricket on open fields. It wasn't until he was 14 that he began to take cricket seriously. In less than a decade, Kamboj hasn't just progressed to his state team but has also broken into the IPL, which has somewhat helped him overcome the disappointment of missing out for India Under-19.

          The milestone of ten wickets in an innings is yet another achievement for Kamboj in what has been an impressive year. It all began when he was the third-highest wicket-taker in Haryana's run to their maiden Vijay Hazare crown. He had picked up 17 wickets in ten games at an economy of 3.58, including a best of 4 for 30 in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu.

          Then, while playing for India C against India B at the season-opening Duleep Trophy in 2024-25, Kamboj picked what was then his best first-class figures of 8 for 69. That included the wickets of seasoned domestic batters like Sarfaraz Khan, Rinku Singh and N Jagadeesan. Last month, Kamboj was part of the India Emerging squad at the T20 Asia Cup, where he turned in a match-winning haul of 3 for 33 against Pakistan Shaheens.

          In between, Kamboj earned his maiden IPL contract with Mumbai Indians and featured in three games for them in 2024 towards the back end of a disappointing season, where they finished last. Kamboj had been in the conversation to be an uncapped retention for 2025, although that didn't happen. But the timing of his performance will make him among the uncapped players to watch out for at the upcoming mega auction.