Spinning in tandem
A statistical look at the spin pair of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh
Mathew Varghese
05-Apr-2008
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A pitch with a tinge of green was perhaps not the ideal setting for Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to play their 50th Test together. South Africa's fast bowlers wrecked India, and the duo hardly made an impact as AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis piled on the misery.
Harbhajan himself was forthright with his take on the Motera strip on offer, and indicated how home pitches should have been conducive to spin. After all, the Indian bowling line-up consisted of what perhaps is the most experienced spin pairing of all time.
Although the 50 Tests for Kumble and Harbhajan is far behind the most experienced bowling pair of all time - Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne tormented batsmen for over 100 Tests, a factor in Australia's phenomenal success - they are one of the longest-serving spins pairs in Tests.
Tests | Bowler | Wickets | Average | Bowler | Wickets | Average | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
104 | Shane Warne | 513 | 24.87 | Glenn McGrath | 488 | 21.38 | |
95 | Courtney Walsh | 373 | 24.30 | Curtly Ambrose | 389 | 21.11 | |
93 | Shaun Pollock | 377 | 22.61 | Jacques Kallis | 170 | 33.48 | |
88 | Muttiah Muralitharan | 545 | 21.70 | Chaminda Vaas | 294 | 27.54 | |
89 | Courtney Walsh | 315 | 25.70 | Carl Hooper | 95 | 47.52 | |
79 | Kapil Dev | 243 | 31.73 | Ravi Shastri | 151 | 40.66 | |
77 | Jacques Kallis | 159 | 32.74 | Makhaya Ntini | 297 | 28.57 | |
70 | Carl Hooper | 76 | 47.60 | Curtly Ambrose | 291 | 21.95 | |
63 | Shaun Pollock | 235 | 24.70 | Makhaya Ntini | 255 | 27.67 | |
61 | Wasim Akram | 282 | 21.33 | Waqar Younis | 277 | 22.92 | |
60 | Garry Sobers | 181 | 32.60 | Lance Gibbs | 237 | 29.00 | |
60 | Bob Willis | 222 | 24.62 | Ian Botham | 254 | 25.67 | |
58 | Glenn McGrath | 274 | 20.52 | Jason Gillespie | 210 | 26.27 | |
53 | Shane Warne | 269 | 25.78 | Jason Gillespie | 176 | 28.57 | |
52 | Anil Kumble | 225 | 27.94 | Javagal Srinath | 187 | 29.30 | |
51 | Ray Lindwall | 195 | 22.47 | Keith Miller | 150 | 23.68 | |
49 | Andrew Flintoff | 167 | 30.06 | Matthew Hoggard | 200 | 28.32 | |
49 | Derek Underwood | 161 | 28.09 | Tony Greig | 119 | 31.41 | |
49 | Anil Kumble | 272 | 26.95 | Harbhajan Singh | 197 | 32.52 |
Perhaps only one spin pair has played more Tests together than Harbhajan-Kumble; the word "perhaps" is used since the combination in question includes Garry Sobers, whose bowling styles included left-arm fast-medium, slow left-arm orthodox and slow left-arm chinaman. Sobers played 60 Tests alongside offspinner Lance Gibbs. With the Motera Test, Kumble and Harbhajan move ahead of another dubious spin combination - Derek Underwood and Tony Greig played together in 49 Tests, but Underwood could lay as much claim as to being a left-arm spinner as Greig could to being an offspinner.
Three Indian spin pairs come in next, all featuring a left-arm spinner. The first two include Bishan Bedi, who played alongside offspinner Erapalli Prasanna and legspinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar in 43 and 42 Tests, while Chandu Borde combined with the miserly left-arm spin of Bapu Nadkarni in 40 Tests.
Tests | Bowler | Wickets | Average | Bowler | Wickets | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
60 | Garry Sobers | 181 | 32.60 | Lance Gibbs | 237 | 29.00 |
49 | Derek Underwood | 161 | 28.09 | Tony Greig | 119 | 31.41 |
49 | Anil Kumble | 272 | 26.95 | Harbhajan Singh | 197 | 32.52 |
43 | Erapalli Prasanna | 162 | 31.03 | Bishan Bedi | 169 | 29.04 |
42 | Bhagwat Chandrasekhar | 184 | 28.70 | Bishan Bedi | 184 | 27.22 |
40 | Bapu Nadkarni | 88 | 27.46 | Chandu Borde | 37 | 47.51 |
Harbhajan wasn't too off with his suggestions on the pitch, as in the 32 home Tests together for Kumble and Harbhajan, India have won 14 and lost only five. Both average below 20 in home victories.
However, they fare far worse in away conditions, though Kumble has been the better of the two both home and away.
Venue | Tests | Wickets for Kumble | Average | Wickets for Harbhajan | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Home | 32 | 200 | 24.51 | 148 | 28.64 |
Home wins | 14 | 114 | 16.87 | 77 | 19.89 |
Away | 17 | 72 | 33.76 | 49 | 44.24 |
Away wins | 6 | 28 | 21.35 | 19 | 27.63 |
In the 49 Tests they played together prior to the Ahmedabad Test, Kumble and Harbhajan have been part of 20 wins, with 20 matches ending in a stalemate and nine ending in defeat. Their averages in victories are less than half of the corresponding figures in draws, an indication that when they have failed to get going, opposition bowlers too haven't been able to dismiss India twice.
Result | Tests | Wickets for Kumble | Average | Wickets for Harbhajan | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | 20 | 142 | 17.76 | 96 | 21.42 |
Lost | 9 | 47 | 34.53 | 38 | 34.42 |
Drawn | 20 | 83 | 38.40 | 63 | 48.30 |
While Kumble's averages 16.91 in the fourth innings of a match - with 48 wickets in 12 innings - Harbhajan only manages a third of those wickets, at an average of 37.18. The offspinner gives away more than 40 per wicket in the first, but he outdoes Kumble when it comes to averages in the third innings of a match, with both bowlers having taken 77 wickets.
Innings | Tests | Wickets for Kumble | Average | Wickets for Harbhajan | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 30 | 83 | 32.61 | 60 | 42.20 |
2nd | 19 | 64 | 26.01 | 44 | 33.38 |
3rd | 31 | 77 | 27.90 | 77 | 23.53 |
4th | 12 | 48 | 16.91 | 16 | 37.18 |
While the inclusion of Harbhajan works favourably on Kumble's statistics, the same doesn't hold conversely. One prime reason for Harbhajan's better performance in the absence of Kumble has to be the 2001 home series against Australia, when India, without Kumble, turned the series on its head. Harbhajan was one of the stars in that series, with 32 wickets at 17.03 apiece in three Tests.
Tests | Wickets | Average | Strike-rate | 5WI/10WM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | 64 | 264 | 31.45 | 66.1 | 21/4 |
With Kumble | 49 | 197 | 32.52 | 69.3 | 16/2 |
Without Kumble | 15 | 67 | 28.29 | 57.0 | 5/2 |
Tests | Wickets | Average | Strike-rate | 5WI/10WM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | 126 | 607 | 28.98 | 64.6 | 35/8 |
With Harbhajan | 49 | 272 | 26.95 | 59.0 | 19/6 |
Without Harbhajan | 77 | 335 | 30.62 | 69.2 | 16/2 |
All stats prior to the second Test between India and South Africa in Ahmedabad.
Mathew Varghese is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo