Come in, spinner
Andy Watson - 16 October 2002

When the West Indies line up against India in the second Test on Thursday, it will mark the first time the two sides have met at Chennai’s famous MA Chidambaram Stadium since January 1988. On that occasion, trailing 1-0 in the series with only the fourth and final Test to play, the Indian selectors gambled on the raw wicket-taking abilities of 19-year-old leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani. With a potent mix of leggies, googlies and top-spinners, Hirwani proceeded to etch his name in the record-books with astonishing figures of 8/61 and 8/75, steering India to victory and salvaging a drawn series.

Hirwani’s match-figures of 16 for 136 narrowly eclipsed Australian Bob Massie’s haul of 16 for 137 against England in 1972 as the best performance by a bowler on Test debut. Those figures remain a record and are still the third-best match- figures of all time, behind only Jim Laker (19 for 90), and Syd Barnes (17 for 159). Moreover, it is still the only time an Indian bowler has taken 10 wickets in a match on debut.

Even more remarkable was Hirwani’s strike rate during that Test. While Massie toiled for more than 60 overs for his 16 wickets, Hirwani destroyed a classy West Indian line-up - an outfit including Viv Richards, Richie Richardson, Gus Logie and Carl Hooper - claiming his 16 wickets in just 33.5 overs, a wicket less than every 13 balls throughout the match!

To put the performance further into perspective, Jim Laker bowled more than twice as many deliveries to claim his world-record figures of 19-90, while Syd Barnes sent down nearly 65 eight-ball overs for his 17 wickets, a dismissal only every 30 deliveries.

The following summer, Hirwani would again star as tourists New Zealand crumbled to a 2-1 series defeat, Hirwani taking 20 wickets for the series along the way. Now with 36 Test wickets at an average of less than 15, the Indians thought they had found a new star, but like many before and after him, the young leg- spinner would struggle away from the spin-friendly pitches of home.

In Hirwani's first tour abroad, India crashed to yet another away-series defeat at the hands of the West Indies. Hirwani was this time ineffective, his six wickets in three Tests coming at 57 runs apiece. Limited success on the tours of New Zealand and England, combined with the emergence of a promising Anil Kumble, meant that Hirwani’s Test-playing days were limited, and he was dropped after the one-off Test against Sri Lanka in November 1990.

Consistent domestic form and an injury to Kumble meant that Hirwani was once again in the frame for Test selection when he was named in a 14-man squad to tackle Australia in the first Test at Mumbai in March 2001. It wasn’t to be, however; Hirwani was left out in favour of the promising but out-of-form Harbhajan Singh, the off-spinner having taken just 21 wickets in his eight Tests at an expensive average of 38.57.

The decision to persevere with the 20-year-old offie was vindicated, Harbhajan bamboozling the Australians to take 24 wickets in the three-Test series and spin India to a thrilling series win against the world champions.

With 106 Test wickets in his last 21 matches, Harbhajan now boasts an impressive Test bowling average of 27.44, a figure that drops to a staggering 18.23 for Tests on home soil. His second- innings return of 7 for 48 in India’s first innings defeat of the West Indies gave the young off-spinner his 10th five-wicket haul, one of the youngest players ever to achieve the feat.

With his star burning bright on the world cricket scene, Harbhajan looks to the future and further success in the second Test in Chennai. What better occasion for us to look back and reflect on another spinner, Narendra Hirwani, a star that burned brightest - and momentarily - the last time these two teams graced the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

The views expressed above are solely those of the guest contributor and are carried as written, with only minor editing for grammar, to preserve the original voice. These contributed columns are solely personal opinion pieces and reflect only the feelings of the guest contributor. Their being published on CricInfo.com does not amount to an endorsement by CricInfo's editorial staff of the opinions expressed.
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