Australian Cricket Team is known for producing world-class fast-bowlers. The pitches in Australia considered as a true paradise for the fast-bowlers. The ones who are fast and extract a lot of bounce from the surface tend to enjoy great success at Australian pitches. However, things aren’t the same for spinners. The overseas spinners endure a terrible time in Australian conditions.
There haven’t been a lot of spinners in the past who have enjoyed substantial success in Australia. In the last decade, there haven’t been a lot of instances when a spinner has claimed a five-for, let alone taking 10 wickets in a match.
Having said that, India’s one of the biggest match-winner, Anil Kumble is the most successful spinner from Asia on Australian soil in Tests. India’s current premier spinner in Test Cricket, Ravi Ashwin, who hasn’t found a lot of success outside India did reasonably well in the first three Tests of the ongoing 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy.
In this article, we look at three youngest Indian spinners to pick a Test wicket in Australia:
- Sachin Tendulkar: 18 years and 253 days
Of all the batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most number of runs against Australia. Australia was little master’s one of the favourite oppositions to play against. However, not a lot of people know that Sachin Tendulkar notched his maiden Test hundred and picked his first Test wicket against Australia in Australia.
An 18-year-old Sachin Tendulkar was part of India’s touring squad to Australia in 1991-92. It also had the likes of Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and Mohammad Azharuddin to name a few. The fourth Test saw the legendary batsman picking up his first Test wicket of Merv Hughes. He was, at that time, only 18 years and 253 days. Sachin Tendulkar still holds the record for being the youngest Indian spinner to pick a Test wicket in Australia.
- Laxman Sivaramakrishnan: 19 years and 360 days
Former Indian spinner, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan is the second youngest spinner to pick a Test wicket in Australia. At just 19 years and 360 days, he claimed his first Test wicket against the Kangaroos.
L Sivaramakrishnan took the world by storm at just 19 years of age in both the formats. However, his success was short-lived as he lost his place in the team after a brief period. In his international career, he has played 9 Tests and 16 ODIs, picking 26 and 15 wickets respectively.
- Washington Sundar: 21 years and 102 days:
Consistent performances for RCB in the IPL for the last few years have helped Washington Sundar establish a reputation of being a T20 specialist. The crafty off-spinner has represented India in 26 T20s so far. However, with Ravi Ashwin and Jadeja being the premier Test match spinners, no one had thought that Sundar would make into India’s Test XI at such a young age.
With Ashwin and Jadeja both nursing injuries, Washington Sundar made his Test debut in the fourth Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Test series 2020-21. He exhibited a terrific spell in the first innings, picking 3 wickets for 89 runs in 31 overs.
Interestingly, he took his first Test wicket of Australia’s current best batsman in the longest format, Steve Smith.
