Top 5 Indian Test debuts with the ball

#1 Narendra Hirwani (8/61 and 8/75)

Narendra Hirwani had more than an exceptional Test debut

Narendra Hirwani was a bright prospect for the Indian cricket considering the fact that he was a proper leg-spinner after Bhagwat Chandrasekhar who apparently looked to make it big in the future. The Gorakhpur-born got his first break in 1988 when he was only 19 years old, but had an immediate impact due to his fairy-tale performance.

He took 16 wickets in the match against the visiting West Indies team in Chennai, picking up 8 in each of the two innings. Ending up with figures of 16 for 136, it is still the third best bowling figures ever in a test match. Following that, Hirwani took another 20 wickets in the next three tests, but a slide was on the way which would overshadow his dream start.

Things started to fall apart when India toured to other countries, in alien pitches which never aided the art of spin bowling. Successive failures in the West Indies, New Zealand, and England went down hard on him and he was eventually sidelined in 1990. Though he played a few Tests after that, he did not perform to book a regular berth in the playing XI.