The past 25 years have witnessed a renaissance of spin bowling in world cricket, from Shane Warne's Test match 'ball of the century' and Murali's 800 through to the importance of Narine, Ashwin, Ajmal et al in ODIs and Twenty 20.
Back in 1988, the West Indian pace attack was the most feared weapon in world cricket, and the most prolific wicket-takers were also merchants of seam and swing like Botham, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Richard Hadlee. Leg-spinners were almost unknown, so it was perhaps a surprise for India to select a 19 year-old leggie from Uttar Pradesh called Narendra Hirwani for the fourth Test against the Windies at Chennai. Perhaps the selectors were just in an experimental mood because two other Indians also made their debuts in that game: batsmen Woorkeri Raman and Ajay Sharma. The latter never played another Test for his country but young Hirwani was to make an almighty impression which could well have led to his reaching the pantheon of slow bowling greats.
It wasn't a vintage West Indian line-up. No Holding or Marshall, but Patrick Patterson, young Courtney Walsh and Winston Davis were no slouches, even on the subcontinent. The batsmen included skipper Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson, Gus Logie, Carl Hooper and new boy Phil Simmons, enough to worry the best bowlers on the globe, and they had taken a 1-0 lead in the series.
India batted first, reaching a creditable 382 thanks to Kapil Dev's 109. When bowling, the seamers were quickly replaced by the spin attack of Shastri, Ayub and then Hirwani. From 98-2, Hirwani took control - and the remaining eight wickets - leaving the visitors 188 all out, close to the follow-on. Batting again, India declared early on day four at 217-8, setting the Windies a daunting 416 to win.
IN those days, and perhaps little has changed, when the chips were down, the cavalier attitude held sway and West Indian batsmen would try to hit their way out of trouble. On such a pitch, this proved a whopping mistake. Kirwan More stumped no fewer than five batsmen, four of them off Hirwani. While he did get hit for several sixes, the bespectacled teenager persevered and was rewarded with a second 'eight-for'. India enjoyed an unexpected win over the mighty Windies by 255 runs and Hirwani's 16-136 became the best figures by a debutant in Test history, and the record still stands.
Unfortunately, despite more success at home to New Zealand, Hirwani could not replicate his leg-spin heroics on overseas tours to the Caribbean, New Zealand and England. AFter a five-year hiatus, he was recalled in 1995 to take 6-59 in a weather-ruined match against NZ at Cuttack, but a wicket-less performance in a Kolkata trouncing by South Africa in late 1996 proved to be his last for India. Anil Kumble was by then becoming the established leg-spinner for the country and, despite a solid and productive first-class career in domestic cricket, mostly for Madhya Predesh, Hirwani was never again called upon. The West Indian spinner in that incredible debut match, Clyde Butts, took no wickets in that game, and his seven-Test career yielded only 10, and his average was almost 60. Not an era to be a Caribbean spinner, especially when Roger Harper was also around with his batting and exceptional fielding.
Narendra Hirwani has neverthless made his mark on the record books and maybe even on the psyche on some legendary batsmen of the eighties, too, by taking those sixteen wickets 25 years ago this week.
