Boon or Bane: Bowlers who claimed Sachin Tendulkar as their maiden wicket on Test debut

This article explores in brief, the careers of those bowlers who, on Test debut, claimed Sachin Tendulkar as their maiden wicket. There are 10 such bowlers (not including Hansie Cronje, who claimed Sachin as his first Test wicket, but not on debut) who could exult in joy at claiming the wicket of arguably the best batsman of their generation. However, in what must be an eerie coincidence, only 3 out of these 10 bowlers played more than 13 Tests in their career; of the rest, 5 played less than 10 Tests, with 3 only playing a single Test. While it is debatable if the feat is boon or a curse, let us explore in a bit more detail the story of these 10 men.

#1 Ruwan Kalpage (Sri Lanka)

Ruwan Kalpage

Ruwan Kalpage, hailed primarily as an ODI specialist, played his first Test match against India in August 1993, at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo. Coming on to bowl as the sixth bowler in the Indian first innings, Kalpage snared Tendulkar on 28, caught by Hashan Tillakaratne. India ensured a solid first innings total of 366, of which 125 runs came from the blade of Vinod Kambli, who was enjoying his brief, but scintillating, Test cricket form at the beginning of his career.

Tendulkar bounced back to score a century in the second innings, and an 8 wicket burst by a young Anil Kumble, including a 5-wicket haul in the first innings, guided India to their only ‘away’ Test victory during the entire decade, and their first series victory over the island nation away from home.

Kalpage could not establish himself as either a specialist batsman or bowler, coming across more as a pseudo all-rounder, very useful in ODIs, but with limited application in Tests. He lost his place in the Test side after 1994, and though he staged a return in 1997, played just 3 more Tests over the next 2 years. Kalpage ended his Test career with 11 matches, in which he scored 774 runs and picked 12 wickets.

#2 Ujesh Ranchod (Zimbabwe)

Ujesh Ranchod

Not many can claim to have Sachin Tendulkar as their only Test wicket, but that is Ujesh Ranchod’s only claim to fame in International Test cricket. In the only Test match of the series between India and Zimbabwe in March 1993, at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, Ranchod dismissed Tendulkar for 62, caught by John Traicos. The wicket had no impact on the game, as India, buoyed by Vinod Kambli’s double century, went on to make more than 500 runs, and inflicted an innings defeat on the hapless Zimbabweans. Ranchod never got to represent the country again at the Test level.

#3 Mark Ealham (England)

Mark Ealham

Mark Ealham was among the first (in the post 90s era) in a long list of England’s ‘bits and pieces’ cricketers who seemed to be sometimes preferred over specialist performers in the country’s Test squads. He made his debut against India in the July 1996 Nottingham Test, the final Test in the series which also saw the debuts of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Ealham managed to get Sachin out caught by Min Patel for his first wicket in Test cricket, but not before the maestro had made 177. Though the match meandered to a draw, Ealham had a very impressive debut, with a match haul of 6 wickets, and making 51 runs in the only innings England batted in. His Test career was all downhill from there – in his next 7 Tests, he could only manage 11 more wickets and 1 additional half-century, ending his Test career with 8 matches, in which he scored 210 runs and picked up 17 wickets.

#4 Neil Johnson (Zimbabwe)

Neil Johnson

An immensely talented all-rounder, Neil Johnson became famous on the international arena during the 1999 World Cup, where his aggressive strokeplay and penchant to pick up crucial wickets won him three Man of the Match awards.

A year before, making his debut against India in 1998 at the Harare Sports Club, he became the only man ever to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar in both innings on Test debut. Johnson had Sachin caught cheaply in both innings, by Alastair Campbell and Andy Flower respectively, and was instrumental, particularly in the second innings, in Zimbabwe’s victory by 61 runs, despite Rahul Dravid’s fighting knocks.

He continued to impress with his all-round skills in both formats during his short international career, before differences with former Zimbabwean coach Dave Houghton, and salary altercations with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, led him to migrate back to South Africa, his country of origin, after the England tour of 2000. He never played international cricket again, and in his 13-match Test career, finished with 532 runs and 15 wickets.

#5 Jacob Oram (New Zealand)

Jacob Oram

Jacob Oram, yet another ODI and T20 specialist who got a fairly long run in Tests, made his debut against India at Wellington in 2002. In extremely seamer-friendly conditions, he trapped Sachin Tendulkar in front of the wicket for just 8 runs; he went on to pick 4 more wickets in the match to help Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey demolish India en route to a 10 wicket victory.

Oram continued to contribute with both bat and ball, but regular injuries resulted in him retiring from Test cricket in 2009, playing only 33 Tests over a 7-year period, during which he scored 1780 runs, with 5 centuries, and picked up 60 wickets.

#6 Monty Panesar (England)

Monty Panesar

Monty Panesar, perhaps the most mercurial player on this list, not only claimed Sachin Tendulkar as his first Test wicket on debut, but also went on to get him out on 3 more occasions. Among spinners, only Muttiah Muralitharan (8 times) and Daniel Vettori (5 times) have got him out more.

Panesar made his Test debut against India in March 2006 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur. He flummoxed Sachin with a beautifully tossed up delivery which went on with the arm and had him trapped in front. While the match ended in an exciting draw, Panesar made his pedigree evident with classical dismissals of Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif – beating them with spin from the rough and hitting the off stump on both occasions.

Between 2006 and 2008, he was very impressive against all touring teams; however, the debut and meteoric rise of Graeme Swann since late 2008 saw him relegated to the role of a second preference spinner. Swann’s batting abilities were also a key differentiator for a team management always keen on all-round players.

Post Swann’s retirement, Panesar was expected to come back to favour, but the inclusion of Moeen Ali, and his success, with both bat and ball, have put a question mark on the future of the talented left armer. Panesar has played 50 Test matches and picked up 167 wickets thus far.

#7 Cameron White (Australia)

Cameron White

Cameron White had a blink-and-you-miss-it Test career, encompassing 4 Test matches in a single Test series against India in 2008. He made his debut at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in the first Test of the series, and could not have asked for a better start when, during India’s second innings, induced Sachin into a false shot, driving straight to Michael Clarke at short cover to depart one run short of a 50.

The match ended in a draw, but India went on to win the series 2-0. While White did make a couple of useful 40s, he was drafted into the side as a specialist spinner, and his bowling skills clearly did not impress the selectors. He was replaced by the more experienced Nathan Hauritz for Australia’s home series against New Zealand, and could never make it back into the Test side.

#8 Peter Siddle (Australia)

Peter Siddle

Peter Siddle, arguably the most successful bowler on this list, made his debut against India in October 2008, at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali. In his 17th over, the first of a new spell, after being struck for consecutive boundaries by Sachin off the first two deliveries, Siddle delivered a perfect ball in the corridor of uncertainty, to have the master edge a low catch to Matthew Hayden.

He finished with a match haul of 4 wickets, but India won the match comprehensively by 320 runs. He has been a consistent bowler for Australia ever since, often lauded for his lion-hearted efforts even on dead tracks. Siddle’s Test career hit a roadblock in February 2014, when he was dropped for the third Test against South Africa, with coach Darren Lehmann citing a steady decline in his pace over the past 3 years as a cause for the axing.

The good news for him and his fans is that, after a successful stint with Nottinghamshire, Siddle was given a notice of recall by Cricket Australia, indicating that he could soon be representing his country in whites. So far, Siddle has played 53 Tests and picked up 188 wickets.

#9 Peter George (Australia)

Peter George

Peter George, a much lesser known entity than his aforementioned namesake and countryman, has played only a single Test match for Australia, in the second Test of the 2010 Border Gavaskar Trophy at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Positioned as a bowler in the Glenn McGrath mould, George was largely unimpressive for much of India’s first innings; he did, however, manage to induce Sachin to drag a delivery on to his stumps, but not before the maestro had made a mammoth 214 runs.

His exit with the score on 486/6 triggered a collapse, with the Indian innings folding for 495. Though Australia fought hard and set India a target in excess of 200, not the easiest on a wearing subcontinent pitch, a composed innings of 72 from another debutant, Cheteshwar Pujara, helped India win by 7 wickets. George sent in 7 wicketless overs during India’s second innings, going at over 4 runs per over. He was axed, and has never been seen in the Test arena since.

#10 Andy McKay(New Zealand)

Andy McKay

Andy McKay, yet another one-Test wonder, and the second bowler on this list to have Sachin Tendulkar as his only Test wicket, made his debut against India in November 2010 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur.

New Zealand were bowled out for 193 in their first innings and Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag brought up an 113-run opening stand. Rahul Dravid played a brilliant innings of 191, and combined in a century partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, who, after scoring 61 runs, fended off a short delivery from McKay to the keeper.

McKay claims that he apologized to the crowd for getting the master out, and he seemed to have taken penance for his ‘sin’ by not taking any more wickets in the match which India won by an innings and 198 runs. He never got another opportunity to play Test cricket for New Zealand.