The lines of satisfaction on his face when he walked out were testimony to the hard work he has put in

Coach John Wright

Kumble's high action still dismisses the unwary

Only three spinners have reached the magical 300 and all are marked with the stamp of greatness - Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Lance Gibbs.

And it is likely that Kumble will join their ranks before the series has ended.

Coach John Wright paid tribute after the match to Kumble's strength in returning to his best.

"It's obviously great to have him back among the wickets and will be a great confidence booster for him," said the New Zealander.

"After South Africa, where he was okay physically but mentally didn't have the edge, it's a great comeback.

"The lines of satisfaction on his face when he walked out were a great testimony to the hard work he has put in."

Unchanging

The figures are outstanding but there is one aspect to Kumble's game in which he is quite possibly unique among modern spinners.

Having made his Test debut against England at Old Trafford in August 1990, he takes his wickets today in the same manner that he did more than a decade ago.

While Warne and Muralitharan have had to learn new tricks, Kumble's bounce and over-spin, generated from a high, strong action continue to dismiss the unwary.

By contrast, Warne went from bowling the flipper once every two or three overs to once or twice a spell as top-order batsmen learned to pick it.

Warne changed as batsmen began to read him

And he now understands that subtle changes in trajectory are more likely to take wickets than the big-spinning leg-break.

Murali, on the other hand, only became a true force when he learned to fully exploit his double-jointedness.

But to Kumble, batsmen - top-order as well as tailenders - are still apt to misjudge the length of straight balls and play back only to be bowled, trapped leg-before or caught at slip off top-spinners.

After all, if the top-spinner was good enough for Nasser Hussain and Mark Ramprakash - in theory two of the better players of spin - in England's second innings, why shouldn't it be good enough for James Ormond and Richard Dawson?

Then there is Kumble's career record home and away to consider.

A total of 289 wickets at 28 is impressive enough.

But exactly half of Kumble's Test appearances have come on home soil, where his record is 183 wickets at 21.17 - a wicket every 54.09 balls.

Warne, by contrast, has a strike-rate of 62.91 at home, and Murali 58.25.

At 31, Kumble might be one of the older dogs in the game today, but when it comes to doing tricks let's put it this way: he's not the one rolling over or fetching the bone.

There can only be one master in any team.