Who was the first Indian fast bowler to claim 10 wickets in an overseas Test? (13 August 2002)

You were right if you thought he was from Haryana. But before you jump the gun and say K, allow us to clarify that it was not Kapil Dev but the less talented and less famous Chetan Sharma. In fact, in his 131-Test career, Kapil never ever claimed a 10-wicket haul in an overseas Test. His two 10-wicket hauls in Tests came at Chennai and Ahmedabad respectively.

Incidentally, Sharma achieved the feat while playing for the Kapil Dev-led side against England in England in 1986. After injury forced him to miss the second Test of the series, which India won to seal the three-Test series 2-0, Sharma returned for the final Test at Edgbaston.

A 183 not out from skipper Mike Gatting in the England first innings meant that though Sharma ended up as the most successful Indian bowler, his final figures of 4-130 from 29.3 overs did not look all that impressive.

The home team's second innings, then, was to provide Sharma with his finest hour in international cricket. Bowling with rare hostility on a pitch whose bounce was turning increasingly unreliable, Sharma more than compensated for Kapil's sudden absence because of a back injury. His return of 6-58 in 24 overs - including the wickets of Graham Gooch, David Gower and Mike Gatting - not only made Sharma the first Indian fast bowler to claim 10 wickets in an overseas Test but also provided his team a great chance to complete a series whitewash in England for the first time.

The Indian batsmen rose to the occasion but a 48-minute long stoppage in play because of rain and bad light saw them falling short of the target by 62 runs despite having five second innings wickets in hand.

For more details on all the above facts check out [ StatsGuru ]

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