Chennai: Left-arm spinner Axar Patel Tuesday became the sixth Indian spinner to take a five-wicket haul on debut in a Test match. The 20-year-old bowler bagged five for 60 runs — 21-5-60-5 — to play a lead role in India’s 317-run win over England in the second Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.
The most recent player to do so was off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who, on his Test debut, against the West Indies in New Delhi in 2011-12 captured six for 47 at the Ferozeshah Kotla. India went on to beat the West Indies by five wickets.
The first Indian spinner to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut was VV Kumar against Pakistan in New Delhi in 1961. He returned figures of 5/64 in the first innings of the match that was drawn.
After many years, left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi achieved the feat (6/103) against Australia in Chennai in 1979-80. The match ended in a draw.
The leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani, bagged five-wicket hauls in both innings (8/61 and 8/75) against the West Indies, also at same venue in Chennai, in 1987-88, to help India win by 255 runs.
And leg-spinner Amit Mishra bagged a fifer (5/71) on debut against Australia in Mohali in 2008-09, before Ashwin’s feat in Delhi. India won by 320 runs.
IANS