Notion Press Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet Chennai - 600 031 First Published by Notion Press 2017 Copyright © Anindya Dutta 2017 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-947988-84-2 This book has been published with all reasonable efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. No part of this book shall be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The Author of this book is solely responsible and liable for its content including but not limited to the views, representations, descriptions, statements, information, opinions and references [“Content”]. The Content of this book shall not constitute or be construed or deemed to reflect the opinion or expression of the Publisher or Editor. Neither the Publisher nor Editor endorse or approve the Content of this book or guarantee the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the Content published herein and do not make any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose. The Publisher and Editor shall not be liable whatsoever for any errors, omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause or claims for loss or damages of any kind, including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising out of use, inability to use, or about the reliability, accuracy or sufficiency of the information contained in this book. Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgements xiii Introduction xvii 1. The Game Changing Spells that came out of the blue 1 2. Dream Debut Spells 61 3. One Day in the Sun – The Best ODI Spells 105 4. Amazing Spells from Forgotten Cricketing Lands 145 5. Four Overs to Glory – The Best T20 Spells 175 6. Magnificent Spells, Heart-breaking Losses 201 7. Best Spells from Cricketers Who Never Got to Play for Their Country 241 8. Remarkable Farewell Spells 271 The Last Word 315 The Game Changing Spells that came out of the blue “The fielders who took the catches, the bowlers who put pressure from the other end and the batsmen who scored the runs without which it would not have been possible to have come this far.” – Anil Kumble (on taking his 500th wicket) Images (clockwise from top left corner): Curtly Ambrose, George Lohmann, Johnny Briggs, and Jim Laker SPELL-BINDING SPELLS The 140 years since the first Test Match was played on 15th March 1877 have witnessed some truly devastating bowling spells that changed the course of matches, and indeed, in some instances, the fortunes of cricket playing nations. While there have been many stupendous bowling performances in a single innings or indeed a single match, it is the Spells that take one’s breath away without any warning of things to come, which remain entrenched in cricketing folklore. Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable spells in Test cricket history, ranked in order of the number of wickets taken conceding the least runs. For this reason, in this chapter, as in the rest of the book, we move seamlessly between different periods in the 140 years of the sport to witness these spells. February 7th 1999, Delhi – India v Pakistan There was a time in the early days of Test cricket, when the biggest rivalry not only in cricket, but in sport, was the Ashes. As the game has grown in stature and spread its wings, two more bilateral contests have emerged to rival this. One is the India-Australia contest for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The other is somewhat more emotional in its staging, between two nations that were once one. We start our Spell-binding Spell journey, perhaps appropriately, with one of the gladiatorial contests that define a meeting between India and Pakistan on a cricket field. To make it even more symbolic, the battle ground is Delhi, the capital of both Undivided and Independent India. It is the winter of 1998–99 and Pakistan visits India for the first time in 12-years for a three Test series that would eventually turn into a two Test contest, with the ICC deciding that the third Test would be a part of the inaugural Asian Test Championships. 2 ANINDYA DUTTA In a thrilling first Test that lives up to the hype, Pakistan beats India by 12-runs at Chennai. It is one of the most evenly contested Test matches in history. Pakistan scores 238 in the first innings with Moin Khan top scoring with 60 and Anil Kumble takes 6 wickets. India responds with 254 with a top score of 54 from Sourav Ganguly, and Saqlain Mushtaq takes 5 wickets. In the second innings, Pakistan responds with 286 on the back of a 141 runs innings from Shahid Afridi opening the innings in his first Test in India. Venkatesh Prasad takes 6 wickets. India responds with 258. At 254 for 6, and 17-runs to get for a famous win, Sachin Tendulkar, in significant pain due to a bad back, in his eagerness to finish the innings, attempts to go for a third successive four and gets out to Saqlain. Wasim Akram takes the catch and the Pakistani team goes berserk. The Indian batting then spectacularly unravels, and the last four wickets add only 4 runs before the innings folds up. Saqlain again takes 5 wickets. First blood in this gladiatorial contest goes to Wasim Akram’s Pakistan. So when the teams meet at the Ferozshah Kotla, there is everything to play for. A draw will mean that Pakistan will get their second successive series win, having won the last Test of the 1987 series at Bangalore after the first four were drawn. For India, it is a must win situation, not only for pride, but also because they know the first Test could have gone either way. They had let a win slip away at the end and lost their best chance till date to win a Test against Pakistan for the first time in 20-years. Azharuddin wins the toss and decides to bat first. Sadagoppan Ramesh and VVS Laxman opening the innings take the score to 88 before Laxman on 35 is bowled by Wasim Akram. It is a beautiful in-swinging delivery that finds the gap between Laxman’s bat and pad. Ramesh scores 60 and Azharuddin 3 SPELL-BINDING SPELLS contributes 67, before India is dismissed for 252. Saqlain again takes 5 wickets on a pitch where the ball is keeping low. Pakistan’s innings starts disastrously. Saeed Anwar falls to a beautiful first ball out-swinger from Venkatesh Prasad that finds the edge of his bat and then Nayan Mongia’s gloves. Pakistan is 1 for 1. Afridi and Ijaz Ahmed take the score to 54 before both fall at that score. Saleem Malik scores 31 before Pakistan is all out for 172. Kumble takes 4 wickets and Harbhajan Singh pitches in with 3. Kumble says later: “The pitch was a bit two-paced and we knew that if we could keep them quiet we would be able to get them out.” India takes a crucial first innings lead of 80 runs. India’s second innings does not start well, with Laxman bowled through his gate in a virtual action replay of the first innings by Wasim Akram. India’s score is 15. But first Rahul Dravid and then Tendulkar play a supporting role, while Ramesh in his second Test match, is playing the innings of his life at the other end. Ramesh finally gets out at 96, hitting a ball back to Mushtaq Ahmed with his score at 96. He will have to wait a bit longer for his maiden century. Sourav Ganguly then steadies the innings with a score of 62 not out, and in the company of first Kumble and then Javagal Srinath, guides India to a score of 339. Srinath scores a gritty 49, and tells an interviewer, years later: “I held myself responsible when we lost the Chennai Test by 15 runs. So this time I wanted to bat for longer and managed to combine well with Ganguly that set up a good target.” With 2 days to go in the Test, Pakistan is left to score 420 to win the Test. It is a challenging task, but something that has been done before. The Test, and the series, is set for an exciting finish. 4 ANINDYA DUTTA Pakistan starts confidently, and none of the Indian bowlers are able to make an impression. With the wicket expected to turn more, Azharuddin takes off Venkatesh Prasad from the Football Stand End and brings on Anil Kumble. But in the 6 overs that he bowls before lunch, Kumble fails to trouble the batsmen. At lunch, with Pakistan at 101 for no loss, the Indians are despairing that they might actually lose the Test. Coach Anshuman Gaekwad decides a pep talk to the team is in order. He then takes Azhar aside. “I had a chat with Azhar. I told him the only person at that juncture who would go through Pakistan on the Kotla pitch was Anil. So we had to take chances with him by making sure he did not get tired. Azhar handled Anil tremendously well and needs to be given credit,” recounts Gaekwad. After lunch, with the Pakistan score still at 101, in what would turn out to be an inspired decision, Azhar switches Kumble to the Pavilion End. Afridi tries to drive a ball outside the off stump that holds its line, takes a faint edge and carries to Mongia.