Kumble reached the milestone when he had last man Makhaya Ntini caught by Rahul Dravid at slip, finishing with three for 82 as South Africa were bowled out for 222.

Kumble, who has played 90 Tests, is joint fifth on the all-time Test-wicket list. Kapil Dev played 131 matches.

The bowler, who got a congratulatory call from Kapil, said he would now aim for 500 wickets.

"A realistic target would be 500 wickets," he said. "Kapil called up and said I should go for that."

Kumble said while injury had been the hardest part of his career, particularly coming back from two surgeries, for a career-threatening shoulder injury in 2001 and then for a fractured jaw suffered while batting in West Indies in 2002, criticism of his style still bothered him.

"It hurts a lot that I still have to answer questions over why I don't turn the ball that much. After taking 434 wickets, after 15 years, people still can't accept me for what I am."

Captain Sourav Ganguly lauded Kumble's unwavering focus.

"His commitment has been the same ever since I've known him. That's a great quality to have," said Ganguly.

"I've played with him for the last 10 years and known him since our under-15 days. His grit and determination have never wavered in all these years."

Ganguly said comparisons with Shane Warne, regarded as the best leg spinner of this era, were obvious. Warne holds the world record with 552 Test wickets in 117 matches.

"People naturally compare him with Shane Warne. Anil doesn't turn the ball as much but he's just shown what a will to succeed can do," Ganguly said. "Getting the Indian record is an outstanding achievement."

Harbhajan Singh, man-of-the-match for his seven for 87, said his spin partner was still young at heart.

"He's 34 years old but he still seems like he's 20. He's so competitive, I'm sure he'll get many more wickets for India."

Kumble made his debut against England in 1990 but came into his own on a tour of South Africa two years later.

The highlight of his career was when he took all 10 Pakistani second-innings wickets in New Delhi in 1999 to equal the world record of England's Jim Laker.

"He's not your conventional leg spinner, but he's always putting pressure on you. You have to take a chance against him," South Africa's Jacques Kallis said.

"Whenever batsmen have to take chances against a bowler who is putting it in the right spot, wickets will fall."

India won the match by eight wickets to clinch the series 1-0.

INDIAN LEADERS
List of leading India Test wicket-takers after leg-spinner Anil Kumble equalled the record in the second Test against South Africa on Thursday (read under name, number of Tests, wickets, average. * denotes still playing):

* Kumble 90 434 28.17
Kapil 131 434 29.64
Bedi 67 266 28.71
C'sekhar 58 242 29.74
Srinath 67 236 30.49

FACTBOX
Born: October 17, 1970, Bangalore. Right-handed batsman, right-arm leg spin bowler.

Test record (includes match in progress): Debut v England, Manchester, August 1990. 90 matches, 1,526 runs at an average of 16.40, three 50s, highest score 88. 434 wickets at 28.17. Best bowling 10-74.

ODI record: Debut v Sri Lanka, Sharjah, April 1990. 259 matches, 886 runs at 10.67, highest score 26. 321 wickets at 30.69. Best bowling 6-12.

Wrist spinner relying more on top spin and bounce than sideways movement.

Made Test debut, aged 19. Came to prominence after tormenting England on 1993 tour of India, setting up 3-0 series win.

Became second player, after England's Jim Laker, to take all 10 wickets in a Test innings, against Pakistan in New Delhi in 1999.

Sidelined for more than a year after shoulder injury in October 2000, undergoing surgery in January 2001.

Returned to form in December with match figures of eight for 133, including six for 81 in the second innings, against England at Mohali.

Reached 300 Test wickets in the third Test against England at Bangalore in his 66th match. Took his 300th one-day wicket against West Indies in Jamshedpur in 2002, becoming only the third bowler to reach the milestone in both forms of the game.

January 2004, took 8-141 in Sydney, the best by any bowler against Australia since Tom Richardson's 8-94 for England in 1898.

Rediscovered top form in 2004, picking up five-wicket hauls against Pakistan and Australia before his second-innings figures of 3-82 on Thursday put him equal with Kapil Dev.

Now joint fifth on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers.