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It is a dream for every cricketer to play Test cricket for his nation. The debut Test is special for every cricketer. Be it the nervous feeling at the beginning of Test or the excitement to play the ultimate form of cricket, every cricketer wants to excel in his debut series.
Till date, there have been 10 cricketers who have created an immediate impact in their debut Test series and have been awarded with the Man of the series award. Here is a look at the said 10 cricketers.
#1 Sourav Ganguly- Arrival of the PRINCE OF KOLKATA:
India's tour of England in the year 1996 saw the arrival of Sourav Ganguly. The second Test at Lord's saw a young left-handed batsman making his debut for India. After the dismissal of Vikram Rathore at the score of 25 in India's first innings, Ganguly walked in to bat at number 3.
The left-hander smashed the English bowlers all over the park and scored a brilliant 131 against the likes of Lewis, Cork, Mullally and Martin. He smashed 20 boundaries in his debut innings at the home of cricket. Apart from this brilliant century, Ganguly picked up 3 wickets and had a perfect debut.
He followed up his debut innings with another century at Trent Bridge and scored 136 runs with 17 boundaries and 2 sixes. He added 255 runs with Sachin Tendulkar and India scored 521 runs in their first innings. Ganguly once again proved his worth with the ball and picked up 3 wickets in England's first innings. India's second innings saw another fluent innings from the bat of Ganguly as he scored 48 runs.
Though India had lost the first Test, the arrival of Ganguly added a new dimension to the team and the second and third Tests ended in draws. Ganguly in spite of batting for only 3 innings was named the player of the series as he scored 315 runs with 2 centuries at an average of 105. He also picked up 6 wickets in 37.5 overs he bowled at an average of just 20.83.
A new legend was born and was ready to dominate world cricket in the years to come.
#2 Jacques Rudolph- An average of 293 in debut Test series
The year 2003 saw Jacques Rudolph's dominating Test debut. The left-handed Rudolph in his debut innings batted at number 3 in the first Test at Chittagong and scored an unbeaten 222 with 29 boundaries and 2 sixes.
South Africa won the Test by an innings and 60 runs. The second Test at Dhaka once again witnessed Rudolph dominating the Bangladeshi bowlers and he again topped the scoreboard in the Test by scoring 71 runs in the first innings.
Rudolph was named the Man of the Series for an astonishing average of 293 runs in the two innings of the series and was expected to be the mainstay of the South African batting line-up for the years to come
#3 Stuart Clark- 20 wickets at an average of 15.85
Australia whitewashed South Africa in a 3 match Test series in the year 2006 in South Africa. The series saw the rise of Stuart Clark as a genuine match winner.
Clark picked up 20 wickets in the 3 match Test series at an average of 15.85 and in the 118 overs he bowled, Clark conceded only 317 runs at an economy of 2.69.
The 20 wickets included a 5 wicket haul in his debut Test innings at Cape Town. The fast bowler picked up 94 wickets in his Test career at an average of 23.86 and won many matches for Australia with his match-winning spells.
#4 Ajantha Mendis- 26 wickets in debut series
Mendis spun his way to glory in his debut series against India in the year 2008. The Indian batsmen who were exceptional players of spin bowling struggled against the new mystery bowler, Mendis.
Mendis bowled 163.1 overs in the series and picked up 26 wickets at an average of 18.38 and an impressive strike rate of 37.65. The Indian batsmen had no answers to the spin of Mendis and were comprehensively beaten in the first and the third Tests of the series.
Though Mendis created an immediate impact in the Test team and picked up 26 wickets in his debut series for which he was named the man of the series, he could not replicate this performance for a longer duration and picked up only 44 wickets in his remaining Test career. Mendis last played a Test match for Sri Lanka in the year 2014 and since then has been overlooked by the selectors.
#5 Ravichandran Ashwin- Second Indian to win the Man of the Series award on debut
Ashwin was a member of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup.
In the same year i.e. 2011, the off-spinner from Tamil Nadu made his Test debut against West Indies. The debut series was memorable for the off-spinner as he picked up 22 West Indian wickets at an average of 22.91 with 2 5 wicket hauls in the series.
Ashwin also displayed his skills with the bat and scored a century in the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. An average of 40.33 with the bat in the debut series along with bowling average of 22.91 was the highlight of the series for India and Ashwin was named the player of the series.
Ashwin till date is a vital member of the Indian Test squad and has picked up 336 Test wickets at an average of 25.45.
#6 Vernon Philander- Bowling average of 13.93 in his debut series:
The 2011 Australian tour of South Africa witnessed some exciting Test cricket. The 2 match Test series was a hard fought series and Australia held their nerves to win the second Test at Cape Town by 2 wickets after losing the first Test by 8 wickets at CapeTown.
Philander made his debut at Cape Town and picked up 8 wickets in the Test (3 wickets in the first innings and 5 wickets in the second innings) and bagged the Man of the Match award on debut. He picked up 6 more wickets in the second Test and ended the series with 14 wickets at an average of 13.93.
Philander is an integral part of the South African Test team even today and has picked up 205 wickets at an average of 21.54.
#7 James Pattinson- The fast bowler Australia needed:
The progress in the Test career of Pattinson has been plagued by injuries, It is really unfortunate that Pattinson has played only 17 Test matches for Australia.
The fast bowler had an exceptional start to his Test career in his debut series against New Zealand. The 2 match Test series was drawn with both teams winning a Test apiece.
Pattinson impressed one and all with his pace bowling and he picked up 14 Kiwi wickets in 60.5 overs at an average of just 14 and a strike rate of 26.07.
If not for injuries, Pattinson would be one of the leading pacers in world cricket at present.
#8 Rohit Sharma- 2 centuries in first 2 Test innings
West Indies toured India for a 2 match Test series in November 2013. Sachin Tendulkar, who had played 198 Test matches before the start of the series, announced his retirement from international cricket after the second Test at Mumbai.
Rohit Sharma who was already dominating bowling attacks in white ball cricket, made his debut in the said series and scored 288 runs and was dismissed just once in the two innings he batted. Thus the batsman from Mumbai averaged 288 after his first two Test innings. He followed up his brilliant century (177 at Kolkata) by scoring an unbeaten 111 on his home turf in Mumbai and was named the player of the series.
Rohit has been in and out of the Indian Test team and has not been able to replicate his success in white-ball cricket in Test cricket.
#9 Mehidy Hasan- 19 wickets in his debut series:
19 wickets at an average of 15.63 with three 5 wicket haul in an innings and 1 ten wicket haul in a match makes an impressive reading.
Hasan had these exceptional numbers after his debut series against England. He picked up 7 wickets in the first Test at Chittagong which England won by 22 runs.
Bangladesh outplayed England in the second Test at Dhaka to level the series and Hasan picked up 12 wickets in the match (6 wickets in each innings).
Bangladesh drew the 2 match Test series by winning the Dhaka Test and Hasan was named the man of the series for his 19 wickets.
#10 Prithvi Shaw- An exceptional 2018
The indifferent form of the Indian openers in the Test series against England saw India's Under 19 World Cup winning captain making his Test debut at the age of 19.
In the recently concluded Test series against West Indies, the opener from Mumbai smashed the West Indians in his debut innings at Rajkot and scored a brilliant 134 at a strike rate of 154.
He followed up his century with innings of 70 and an unbeaten 33 at Hyderabad and guided India to an easy 2-0 win over the West Indies,
Shaw was named the player of the series for scoring 237 runs at an average of 118.50 and an impressive strike rate of 94.05.
Shaw has made an excellent start to his international career and will look to impress one and all in India's upcoming Test series against Australia.
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