Hirwani dazzles on Chepauk debut - 1987-88
Partab Ramchand - 29 October 2002

With the retirement of stalwarts like Clive Lloyd, Larry Gomes, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Joel Garner, the West Indies in the late 80s were not as formidable as they were earlier in the decade. But they remained the best side in the world. Some of the older stars like Viv Richards, Gus Logie, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Jeff Dujon, Winston Davis and Richie Richardson were still around, Carl Hooper was a shining new star on the horizon, and adequate fast-bowling replacements had been unearthed in Courtney Walsh, Patrick Patterson and Winston Benjamin.

Making an astonishing debut, the bespectacled Hirwani finished with a match haul of 16 for 136, the best-ever figures by a bowler in his first Test. Only Australian swing bowler Bob Massie had taken 16 wickets in his first Test, against England at Lord’s in 1972, and interestingly enough, his match haul was 16 for 137.

So it was a confident West Indian side that visited India for the tour in 1987-88, despite the debacle in the just-concluded Reliance World Cup, in which the team quite unexpectedly failed to qualify for the semifinals. The final score line ­ a 1-1 draw in the four-match series ­ may not have qualified as a fair result, for the West Indies did seem to have the edge of the exchange. But there was no such close result in the eight-match one-day international series, in which the West Indies routed India 7-1.

It was an astonishing spin trick on a responsive pitch that saw India square the series in the final Test at Madras. In the first two Tests, they had been squarely at the receiving end. They had lost the first Test in New Delhi by five wickets after being shot out for 75 in the first innings ­ the lowest total by India at home. They were a trifle fortunate in getting away with a draw in the second Test at Bombay. Over 10 hours play was lost on the first three days because of rain, but despite this, at the end of the Indian second innings, the West Indies had to make 118 for victory in 11 overs. They however rejected the challenge after facing only two overs.

The third Test, played on a placid Eden Gardens pitch, was always going to be a high-scoring draw, and so the West Indians arrived at Chepauk still one-up in the series. Here the authorities ensured a woefully under-prepared track, and India played three spinners in stand-in captain Ravi Shastri, Arshad Ayub and 19- year-old debutant leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani.

The West Indian counter to this was to also play three spinners in Richards, Clyde Butts and Hooper. But whereas they took only four of the 18 Indian wickets that fell in 89 overs, conceding 250 runs, the Indian trio accounted for 18 of the 20 wickets to fall in 93.5 overs, conceding 270 runs. In short, India had the bowlers to exploit the conditions whereas the West Indians did not. The biggest disappointment was Butts, who sent down 45 overs and conceded 124 runs without taking a wicket.

Making an astonishing debut, the bespectacled Hirwani finished with a match haul of 16 for 136, the best-ever figures by a bowler in his first Test. Only Australian swing bowler Bob Massie had taken 16 wickets in his first Test, against England at Lord’s in 1972, and interestingly enough, his match haul was 16 for 137. Extracting maximum turn from the responsive pitch, making the ball bounce awkwardly, Hirwani was virtually unplayable as he took eight for 61 and eight for 75 to bring the match to a swift conclusion on the fourth evening, with India winning by 255 runs.

The visitors were livid at the sub-standard quality of the pitch, and Richards vowed revenge, muttering, "I have got a long memory, maan" as he looked ahead to the return visit of the Indians to the Caribbean in 1989. But other than that debacle in adverse conditions at Madras, the West Indian batting acquitted itself creditably. Richards won the first Test for his side with a masterly unbeaten 109 off 102 balls. Greenidge, Logie and Hooper all made hundreds in the batsman-friendly conditions at Calcutta, while Richardson and Desmond Haynes had their moments. In the bowling department, Walsh displayed his undoubted skill in bagging 26 wickets at just 16.80 apiece, while Patterson and Davis were admirable in support.

For India, Dilip Vengsarkar, then in the midst of a Bradmanesque run, hit two hundreds in three Tests before a ball from Davis fractured his left hand. He also became Indian captain in his 96th game, making him the most senior cricketer to be first appointed as Test captain. Kapil Dev came up with a marvelous hundred on the dirt track at Chepauk, while Mohammad Azharuddin, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Arun Lal chipped in with valuable contributions. Srikkanth in particular rose to the occasion at Bombay, where he top-scored in both innings with 71 (off 63 balls with 11 fours and a six) and 65 (off 78 balls with 10 fours) in adverse conditions, challenging the fast bowlers with fearless hooking and driving.

The bowling, however, generally made little impression ­ until the final Test, when Hirwani made the West Indians dance to his tune. But perhaps he would be the first to admit that he might not have achieved his magical figures without the help of Kiran More, who set dual world records by stumping five batsmen in an innings and six in the match.

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