ON THIS DAY IN 1988: It was on January 15, 1988, that Indian cricketer Narendra Hirwani etched his name in history books. Hirwani registered astonishing bowling figures of 16-136 on his Test debut. Hirwani’s figures in that match are the best bowling figures by a player on Test debut. His memorable performance propelled India to a famous Test victory against the West Indies.
Coming into the fourth Test match in Chennai, Team India were 1-0 behind in the series. Hirwani was drafted in the playing XI due to the spin-friendly nature of the Chepauk pitch.
With a high-stakes series on the line, any debutant would feel the nerves. However, Hirwani showed tremendous mental fortitude in his first international match and was unperturbed by the reputation of the West Indies batting line-up.
In the match, Ravi Shastri-led India put up a decent score of 382 in the first innings, courtesy of Kapil Dev’s brilliant century and Arun Lal’s 69. In the second innings, the visitors found themselves in a spot of bother at 47 for 2. The prolific duo of Viv Richards and Richie Richardson steadied the ship and threatened to take the game away from the hosts. The duo had stitched together a partnership of 51 runs when Narendra Hirwani went on a rampage.
The 19-year-old leggie dismantled the West Indies batting line-up singlehandedly. The spinner got the wickets of Richardson, Gus Logie and Carl Hooper in quick succession. He proved his class when he dismissed Viv Richards. The West Indies great was batting on 68 and looked set for a big score when he was castled by the Hirwani.
Richards’ dismissal opened the flood gates and West Indies collapsed for 184. India gained a first innings lead of 198 runs and never looked back. India declared in the third innings after setting a daunting target of 416 runs. The West Indies batters were not able to deal with Hirwani’s vicious leg-breaks in the fourth innings as well.
Hirwani tore through the batting line-up of the visitors by claiming eight scalps. Hirwani’s 8 for 75 in the fourth innings sealed a famous Test victory for India. Not only had India salvaged the Test series, but the team had found a world-class spinner as well in that match.
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