Four Indian Cricketers Who Earned The Man Of The Series Award In Their Debut Test Series

For cricketers, to obtain a Test cap is no easy task. For most aspiring cricketers, Test cricket remains the ultimate goal as it puts into the examination, the temperament of a particular player. Hence, a player needs to be consistent with their performances in the domestic circuit to break into the Test team.

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As for India, a tally of 296 players have bagged Test caps. Yet, only ten players have managed to play over 100 fixtures, which proves they belong to the elite class and shone brightly. On the other hand, only four Indians have won man of the series award in their debut Test series, owing to their exemplary display.

We take a look at four Indian cricketers who have won man of the series awards in their first Test series:

Sourav Ganguly:

Having made his debut in 1992, Sourav Ganguly had to wait for his maiden Test cap till 1996. Although Sourav Ganguly made his first international appearance in 1992, he had to wait for four more years as he stayed out of the team due to disciplinary reasons. And there was no looking back since then.

At the iconic Lord’s, the former Indian captain played his first Test and mustered 131 while batting at number three. The southpaw made another hundred (136) in the third Test in Nottingham, stitching a partnership of 255 with Sachin Tendulkar. England won the hard-fought series by 1-0 while Ganguly for his 315 runs in two Tests bagged the man of the series award alongside England batsman Nasser Hussain.

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Ravichandran Ashwin:

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin rose through the ranks with his miserly bowling and wicket-taking ability in the IPL. Soon after his success in limited-overs cricket, the 33-year old was called up to the Test team in 2011. Ashwin made his international debut through an ODI in June 2010. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner straight away made the ball talk with the red cherry too in his first Test series.

West Indies toured India to play three Tests; however, they endured plenty of difficulties countering the finger spinner. Across three Tests, he took 22 wickets including two five-wicket hauls. Ashwin’s teammate Pragyan Ojha was the only other bowler to reach the wickets tally in double-figures with 20 in the series. As of today, Ashwin has collected 365 wickets in 71 Tests and is one of the top-notch in the world alongside Nathan Lyon.

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Rohit Sharma:

Rohit Sharma began his career languishing between the middle-order and lower middle-order but had an auspicious start to his Test arena. He broke into the Test team seven years ago in 2013 against the West Indies and struck 177 while batting at number six. In the process, he shared a stand of 280 with Ravi Ashwin, who mustered 124.

For his 288 runs in two Tests with a couple of centuries, the 33-year old received the man of the series award. As of now, Rohit Sharma opens for India in whites and struck a century and double-ton in his first series as an opener. While he undoubtedly is a goliath in limited-overs cricket, Rohit’s stature is increasing in Tests too.

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Prithvi Shaw:

Prithvi Shaw made his Test debut at a tender age of 18 and did not shy away from showing his capability. As the West Indies visited India in 2018, India saw it the best time to try out the youngster ahead of the Australian tour. In the very first match of the series in Rajkot, Shaw registered his maiden Test century to put India in a dominant position.

In the process, he became the youngest Indian cricketer to score a century on Test debut. Across two Tests, Prithvi Shaw hammered 237 runs at a jaw-dropping average of 118.50 with a hundred and fifty. The 237 runs came at a strike rate of 94.5 that earned him the man of the series award. While due to various disciplinary issues, Shaw’s career has gone through several bumps, he remains in the selection frame.

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