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Great Indian spells - part 1 Wisden CricInfo staff - July 1, 2002
We bring to you, in chronological order, the 20 nominees for Indian Bowling Performance of the Century. Nominees 1 to 10 are on this page. For nominees 11 to 20, click here. Madras, February 6 and 8, 1952 India's first Test victory, against England in Madras in February 1952, was largely fashioned by one man. Vinoo Mankad came on to bowl after England had won the toss and, on an excellent batting strip, moved smoothly to 65 for 1. A few hours later, they had collapsed to 266 all out – Mankad taking 8 for 55. It was one of the finest exhibitions of left-arm spin bowling. The pitch offered little assistance, but Mankad's subtle variations in flight had England's batsmen floundering – four of the batsmen were stumped. Mankad took four more wickets in the second innings, as India won by an innings and 8 runs. Almanack match report
Kanpur, December 12, 1958 Subhash Gupte came from the classical school of legspin bowling – he could turn the ball either way, he had an excellent topspinner, and combined all his variations with immaculate control. On a jute matting wicket at Kanpur against West Indies, he gave a spectacular demonstration of his craft. West Indies elected to bat, but were soon floundering. Gupte dismissed Garry Sobers for 4, Rohan Kanhai for a duck and ripped through the rest of the batting to finish with 9 for 102, as West Indies were bowled out for 222. He could have had all ten, but wicketkeeper Naren Tamhane dropped Lance Gibbs off his bowling. Almanack match report
Kanpur, December 20, 1959 Going into the second Test against Australia at Kanpur, India had lost nine out of 11 previous matches, including the first one of that series. In a desperate move, India brought in Jasu Patel, an unorthodox, quickish offspinner who used the seam to cut the ball, not spin it. The gamble paid off. On a matting wicket at Kanpur, Patel ripped through Australia's batting, taking an astounding 9 for 69 in the first innings. He took five more in the second, as India won by 119 runs to level the series. Patel remained a one-match wonder though – in six more Tests, he managed only 15 wickets. Almanack match report
Delhi, March 19 and 20, 1965 New Zealand had managed to draw the first three Tests against India, but Srinivas Venkataraghavan helped break the deadlock with a superb spell of offspin bowling on a first-day pitch at Delhi. New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat, but were soon in trouble. Venkat dismissed the top four batsmen and eventually finished with 8 for 72, as New Zealand were bowled out for 262. Venkat took four more wickets in the second innings, as India cantered to a seven-wicket triumph. Almanack match report
The Oval, August 23, 1971 England were well in control of the Test when Bhagwat Chandrasekhar came on to bowl in the second innings at The Oval: they led by 71 runs after the first innings, and with five sessions to go, were pressing for a win. Two-and-a-half hours later, Chandrasekhar had taken 6 for 38 and England had been bowled out for 101. Mesmerising the Englishmen with his fizzing topspinners, googlies and the occasional legbreaks, Chandrasekhar ran through the batting to set up India's first Test victory in England. Almanack match report
Calcutta, January 3 and 4, 1973 Playing their first home series since the wins in the West Indies and England, India began badly against Tony Lewis's England, losing the first Test. In a low-scoring second Test at Calcutta, England needed 192 to win, when Bishan Bedi showed his class. Bowling with unerring accuracy and cleverly varying the flight, turn and pace, he knifed through England's batting line-up, finishing with 5 for 63 from 40 overs. India wrapped up the Test by 28 runs, and went on to win the series 2-1. Almanack match report
Auckland, January 26 and 28, 1976 Bishan Bedi had been ruled out of India's first Test against New Zealand at Auckland, but Erapalli Prasanna, with support from Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan, ensured that Bedi's absence wouldn't be felt. Prasanna took three wickets in the first innings, but was at his lethal best in the second, getting the ball to grip, turn and bounce. New Zealand's batsmen were clueless against his subtle variations in flight and were bowled out for 215, Prasanna taking 8 for 76. India coasted to an eight-wicket win – one of the few instances when they won the first Test of an away series. Almanack match report
Melbourne, January 3 and 4, 1978 India had lost the first two Tests of the five-match series against an Australian side weakened by the Kerry Packer revolution. But they fought back in the Melbourne Test, primarily due to the virtuoso bowling performance of BS Chandrasekhar. The Australian batsmen were clueless against his unique brand of fast topspinners, googlies and legbreaks. Chandra finished with 6 for 52 in each innings, as India swept to a 222-run victory. Almanack match report
Madras, January 19 and 20, 1980 Kapil Dev's entry into the Indian team gave a whole new dimension to the bowling attack, which had hitherto been dominated by spinners. His performance in the fourth Test against Pakistan in 1979-80 was magnificent. On a flat batting track, he took four wickets in Pakistan's first innings and then scored a hard-hitting 84 in India's reply. Then, he ran through Pakistan's formidable line-up in a decisive spell of fast bowling, taking 7 for 56 as India wrapped up a 10-wicket win. Almanack match report
Melbourne, February 11, 1981 Going into the last innings of the Melbourne Test, Australia were favourites to wrap up the series 2-0 – they needed just 143 to win. Kapil Dev had other ideas. A pulled thigh muscle meant Kapil could not take the field on the fourth evening, when Karsan Ghavri and Dilip Doshi grabbed three early wickets. Next morning, it was all Kapil. He took the field with the help of pain-killing injections, and ran through Australia's middle and lower order in a devastating spell of seam bowling. He finished with 5 for 28 as Australia were bundled out for 83. Almanack match report Click here for the remaining 10 nominees for Indian Bowling Performance of the Century. Compiled by S Rajesh. © Wisden CricInfo Ltd |
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