Manav Suthar set multiple world records and rewrote history as he continued the dream start to his career in Test cricket during the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle. The left-arm spinner was the star of the Shubman Gill-led team's 165-run victory, which helped the visitors take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series ahead of the second and final game at Colombo's iconic SSC Ground from Sunday (August 23).
Playing only his second Test match of his career, Suthar took 10 wickets in the match, which included a six-wicket haul in the second innings. Earlier, he had taken four wickets in the first innings and finished with match figures of 10-131 (4.76 and 6.55).
Suthar has become the first visiting bowler in history to take a six-wicket haul in the fourth innings of a Test match in Sri Lanka. Previously, there were eight instances of an away team player recording a five-for in the last innings in the island nation.
Best bowling figures by a visiting bowler in 4th innings in Sri Lanka | AI GENERATED Infographic
Suthar also set the world record for the best bowling figures for a visiting spin bowler in Galle. Among pacers (away team), only Mitchell Starc (11-94 in 2016) is above him on the elite list at the iconic. Meanwhile, Keshav Maharaj is the only non-Sri Lankan spinner with more wickets at any venue in Sri Lanka (12-283 in 2018 at SSC Stadium in Colombo).
Best Bowling Figures (Match) By A Visiting Spinner In A Test Match At Galle
This was the second Test of Suthar's career, and he already had 17 wickets after taking seven against Afghanistan in June at Mullanpur, which included a six-wicket haul (6-33) in the first innings as the Shubman Gill-led team won the match by an innings and 300 runs.
Suthar's tally of 17 wickets is the third-most by an Indian bowler after playing two games, behind Nirander Hirwani (24) and Axar Patel (17). He is also only the fifth Indian bowler after Hirwani (3), Axar (2), Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (2), and Mohammad Nissar (2) to take multiple five-fors in their first two appearances for India in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Suthar is only the second Indian after Nissar to take a five-wicket haul in both his home and away debut Test matches. Nissar achieved the feat in the first two Test matches India played in their history against England in 1932 at Lord's and 1933 at Mumbai (Gymkhana).
Aayush Kataria is a Senior Copy Editor at Times Network with four years of experience, having started his career in the organisation. He is a key memb… View More