"You took your time, but you did it!"
This was the message from Anil Kumble's friends, Sathish Vishwanathan and Shankar in Bangalore, a minute after the ace leg spinner scored a maiden Test century on Day 2 of the third and final Test against England at the Oval on Friday.
Both Satish and Shankar, who have been monitoring Anil's batting for a while now, were elated when he reached the three-figure mark.
Satish, who has played a lot of cricket with Anil, told rediff.com, "We had been needling him for a while. We even challenged him to score a century. Finally, it has happened and we are happy that he has done it."
Satish also said he had always told Anil that his career would never be complete until he scored a century in international cricket.
"If you look at Anil's performance in the past three years, it was evident that he was not in the best form where his batting was concerned. We always knew that he was capable of better batting and now he has finally done it."
Meanwhile, at the Karnataka State Cricket Association, which is housed in the Chinnaswamy stadium, it was celebration time.
The Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore is also Anil's home ground. Several members had gathered to watch the match on the giant screen there. The moment Anil reached the magical figure, the members erupted and it was time for celebration.
Said Anil's friend Shashi, who was watching the match, "Our boy has done it. He did us proud with his bowling and now he has achieved it with his batting.
"Anil has always been an asset where his bowling is concerned, but now we hope that he carries his batting form forward."
