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Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries

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Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries | Who performed best for India on Test debut in SENA Countries?

Succeeding in Test matches in South Africa, England, Australia and England, jointly known as SENA nations, has been a paramount task for the Indian cricket team. The true mettle of any subcontinental player in the longest format of the game is said to be tested in these countries.

Seasoned professionals find the process of adapting to the alien conditions in SENA quite challenging. Imagine how further difficult it must be for a newbie in whites?

Yet, certain debutants managed to carve an impact in their debut match/series in SENA countries. In this article, Cricblog throws light on some of the most impactful Indian Test debuts in the aforementioned four nations.

1: Ravi Shastri

Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries | Who performed best for India on Test debut in SENA Countries? | Opinion on Test cricket
Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries: The current India coach was superb on debut.

The Indian team head coach had played his first Test match at Wellington in New Zealand during India’s tour in 1981. Back then, the gritty batsman played more as a specialist spinner and was sent to the crease at number nine. Shastri was a left-arm spinner renowned for his consistent line-length and additional bounce that he extracted through his height. Slower bowlers do not have it easy in SENA, but Shastri was someone who defied the odds right from the beginning. The spinner scalped three wickets in both the innings to mark a pretty successful first Test match.

He dismissed Jeremy Coney, Martin Snedden and Gary Toup in 28 overs at a commendable economy rate of 1.93 in the first innings. His outing in the second innings was even more fascinating. The Indian team bundled out New Zealand for a mere 100 runs and Shastri took three wickets in three overs to wipe out the tail and prevent the Kiwis from furthering their lead. The head coach dismissed Lance Cairns, Martin Snedden and Gary Toup. Incidentally, all of these batsmen scored a duck in that innings! Certainly, a fascinating start to one’s career in the longest format…

2: Sourav Ganguly

Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries | Who performed best for India on Test debut in SENA Countries? | Opinion on Test cricket
Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries: Ganguly, great start to a great career.

Sourav Ganguly was a part of the Indian squad that toured Australia in 1991/92. However, the former skipper couldn’t get a game and had to wait until 1996 to make his Test debut. The southpaw ensured that he made the most of that opportunity in seaming English conditions. Making his debut at the revered Lord’s stadium, Ganguly was uncharacteristically sent out to bat at number three. The player from Kolkata scored a flamboyant century to certify his arrival in international cricket.

Ganguly’s technique looked intact right from the start. It was his ability to carve open gaps on the off-side and collect boundaries aplenty that made the cricketing world take notice of him. The BCCI president lasted for more than seven hours on the field, and notched 131 runs in 301 deliveries. In fact, his innings included 20 boundaries and he was finally bowled over by Alan Mullally as India nearly touched the 300-run mark.

For a player to overcome his nerves and own the stage at the Lord’s at the very commencement of his cricketing career reeked of incredible steel and self-belief; traits that defined Ganguly’s career and life thereafter.

3: Rahul Dravid

Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries | Who performed best for India on Test debut in SENA Countries? | Opinion on Test cricket
Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries: Dravid was amazing from the start.

That Lord’s test signified the arrival of another precious jewel of Indian cricket: Rahul Dravid. The batsman from Karnataka was deployed at number seven in his debut innings. He came into bat with the score reading 202-5 and another newbie in Ganguly at the other end. Dravid’s first innings was perhaps a clear testament of his career ahead. He weathered the storm presented by the English bowlers and first got his eye in those arduous circumstances. Dravid gradually started rotating his strike and cautiously avoided fishing the ball outside the off stump.

He induced some much-needed assurance stability to the innings and departed only when India had gained some valuable lead over the opposition. Dravid scored 95 runs in 237 deliveries, in an inning that included six boundaries. He eventually was dismissed caught behind through a delivery from Chris Lewis, but India had already secured a 75-run lead by then. From thereon, the ‘Wall’ continued bailing India out of many such precarious situations right until the very end of his career.

4: Jasprit Bumrah

Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries | Who performed best for India on Test debut in SENA Countries? | Opinion on Test cricket
Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries: Bumrah has been superb in SENA

Jasprit Bumrah was unexpectedly handed his cap in the opening Test at Cape Town of the three-match series in South Africa in early 2018. The pacer was slated to infuse some unpredictability in the bowling arsenal, thus handing the team an edge over the opposition. Bumrah struggled at first in terms of adjusting to the appropriate lengths at Newlands and ended up conceding 73 runs in 19 overs in exchange of a solitary wicket in the first innings.

However, the fast bowler learnt swiftly from his errors and made the necessary corrections in the second innings. Bumrah dismissed the key trio of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock to break the back of the South African innings and bowl them out for merely 130 runs. The fast bowler has hardly gone on to look back from then and emerged as the undisputed spearhead of the Indian bowling attack in all the formats of the game.

5: Shubman Gill

Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries | Who performed best for India on Test debut in SENA Countries? | Opinion on Test cricket
Top 5 Best Indian Test Debuts in SENA Countries: Shubman Gill had an outstanding series.

Shubman Gill was introduced in the Indian playing XI after Prithvi Shaw’s horrid outings in the Adelaide Test match. The talented star got in the groove straightaway through a stroke-filled knock of 45 runs in 65 deliveries in the Melbourne Test. The opener bagged eight boundaries in that innings and gave a fine account of the stuff that one can expect from him going ahead. He stuck around in the second innings too, staying unbeaten at 35 off 36 deliveries to help India chase down the target of 70 runs without any hiccups.

Gill was right on the money in the first innings of Sydney too and even overshadowed senior teammate Rohit Sharma to bag his first half-century in Test cricket. The ease with which he toyed around with the express Aussie pacers explained that there’s something big to expect from him soon. Finally, that massive outing came in the fourth innings of the Brisbane Test. India had to chase 328 runs in three sessions to bag the series and Gill turned out to be the top-scorer in that innings.

His incredibly flamboyant 91 runs from 146 deliveries wonderfully set the stage for Rishabh Pant’s late onslaught. Gill notched eight boundaries and two sixes in his innings as he looked completely facing the fiery Aussie fast bowlers on the juicy Gabba track. His performance was truly a testament to the humungous improvement made by Indian newbies in overseas conditions.

Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.

Tarkesh Jha
Tarkesh Jhahttps://twitter.com/jha_tarkesh
Tarkesh is a passionate cricket fan from India. He specialises in reporting on news from around the cricketing world as well as putting together opinion pieces. You can connect with Tarkesh on Twitter (X) at: https://twitter.com/jha_tarkesh

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