Beginnings and endings

Five decades of India-Pakistan rivalry have witnessed memorable beginnings, poignant endings and, most notably, miserable exits. While the intense passion involved in facing the arch-rival has resulted in unforgettable debuts - Hanif Mohammad, Sachin Tendulkar, Waqar Younis - there were also several who experienced ignominious exits - Erapalli Prasanna, Asif Iqbal and Gundappa Viswanath. Here, we pick out the most prominent 11:

Beginnings

Hanif Mohammad
1st Test at Delhi, 1952

It was Pakistan's first-ever Test. Vinoo Mankad, the master left-arm spinner, was weaving his magic but Hanif Mohammad held on for a defiant 51 in the first innings, when only three other batsmen managed double-figures. Pakistan lost the game by a distance, but the 17-year-old Hanif went on to shatter many batting records in a glittering 17-year international career.

Naren Tamhane
1st Test at Dhaka, 1955

India's first world-class wicketkeeper was first introduced to the world in Dhaka, then part of East Pakistan. His efficient methods against Subhash Gupte's legspin and Vinoo Mankad's left-arm turners caught the eye and he managed 19 victims in the entire series, including seven stumpings. Tamhane went on to play 20 more Tests and was a big presence behind the wickets in the latter half of the 1950s.

Kapil Dev
1st Test at Faisalabad, 1978

Not only was this the first Test Kapil played, it was also the first Test he saw. Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad didn't make it too memorable an experience - Kapil's 16 overs went for 71 without any reward - and he ended with just one wicket and 8 runs in the game. India were dismantled in the series but Kapil's arrival, marked by prodigious swing, marked the start of a new era.

Waqar Younis
1st Test at Karachi, 1989

The start of the reverse-swing era. Waqar thundrered in at Karachi and rattled batsman after Indian batsman and along with Wasim Akram, his partner in many a swinging triumph later, snapped up eight Indian wickets. Imran Khan and Abdul Qadir were on their way out but in Waqar, Pakistan had unearthed a new matchwinner with devastation being the solitary theme of his bowling approach.

Sachin Tendulkar
1st Test at Karachi, 1989

On the same day at Karachi, India landed a huge catch as well. A different animal though - a baby-faced 16-year-old with bat in hand - but Sachin Tendulkar's debut was memorable not for the runs he scored but for the bravery he showed after copping blow after blow. It wasn't a sight that mothers enjoyed as Wasim and Waqar steamed in and let fly, but the manner in which Tendulkar handled the fiery baptism was just an introduction to what lay in store. Indian cricket had just begun a new chapter.

Endings

Lala Amarnath
5th Test at Calcutta, 1952

One of India's biggest cricketing heroes, Amarnath left the stage after captaining in a triumphant campaign against Pakistan. He didn't do much in this drawn encounter but had played a crucial part in the third Test in Bombay when India went 2-1 up in the series. He also captained with imagination throughout the series and even at 41, produced some plucky knocks in the middle order.

Erapalli Prasanna
2nd Test at Lahore, 1978

Kapil Dev's arrival heralded a new beginning but Zaheer Abass and Co. ensured that the heady days of Indian spin were coming to a rapid end. Erapalli Prasanna finished with woeful figures of 2 for 251 in the first two Tests and never attained the loop and magic that made him one of the greatest spinners of all time.

Asif Iqbal
6th Test at Calcutta, 1980

Asif experienced a miserable end to a resplendent career as Pakistan were dominated in the series. He wanted the tour to be called off halfway and the pressure of losing to India even took a toll on his health as he turned pale and wiry. He managed just two half-centuries in the whole series as the curtain came down on a 15-year career.

Gundappa Viswanath
6th Test at Karachi, 1983

An unforgettable image of Pakistan's resounding victory in the series was Gundappa Viswanath shouldering arms to a vicious incutter from Imran and being flummoxed when the ball crashed into the stumps the next moment. Viswanath averaged a paltry 16.75 in the six Tests as the batting line-up was regularly torn apart by Imran's fury. It was an anticlimactic farewell for someone who gave so much joy with bat in the hand right through the 1970s.

Sunil Gavaskar
5th Test at Bangalore, 1987

It's a story that has been told over and over again. Series on the knife-edge, tricky run-chase on a near-unplayable dustbowl and Gavaskar unveils a masterclass that has even the Pakistanis baffled with wonder. Only three others reached double-figures as balls kicked, squirted and zipped in every direction. He fell four short of a hundred, India lost a thriller and the curtains came down on arguably the most significant epoch in Indian cricket.

Saqlan Mushtaq
1st Test at Multan, 2004

Virender Sehwag's eye-popping triple-hundred might well have prematurely ended Saqlain Mushtaq's career. Saqlain nearly dismissed Sehwag early in his innings, when Mohammad Sami fluffed a simple chance at midwicket, but ended with 1 for 204 at the end of the innings. It is highly unlikely that Saqlain will play another Test but again, stranger things have happened in Pakistan cricket.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Cricinfo.