List of India cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut

In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer")^[1][2] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. A five-wicket haul on debut is regarded by critics as a notable achievement.^[3][4] As of September 2024, 174 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut,^[5] out of which nine are from the India national cricket team. The five-wicket hauls were taken against four different opponents – three each against Australia and West Indies, twice against England, and once Pakistan. The nine occasions have resulted in five wins, two losses and two draws. The five-wicket hauls were taken at eight different venues, six in India, three of which were taken at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

The Indian Test team that toured England in 1932

The first Indian to take a five-wicket haul was Mohammad Nissar who took 5 wickets for 93 runs during India's first Test, in June 1932 against England.^[a][7] Vaman Kumar, a leg spinner, was the next to achieve this feat. His figures of 5 wickets for 64 runs took India close to winning a match against Pakistan during the latter's tour of India in 1960–61.^[8][9] In December 1967, Syed Abid Ali took 6 wickets for 55 runs against Australia. The figures remain the best by an Indian fast bowler on debut.^[10] Narendra Hirwani's 8 wickets for 61 runs against the West Indies, in January 1988, are the best bowling figures by an Indian on Test debut.^[b] His aggregate of 16 wickets for 136 runs in the match are a record for any bowler on debut. As of February 2021, he is the only Indian cricketer to take ten or more wickets in a Test match on debut.^[12]

The most recent Indian cricketer to achieve this feat was Axar Patel, who took 5 wickets for 60 runs against England in February 2021. India won the match by 317 runs.^[13] Nissar, Ali and Shami are the only fast bowlers to achieve this feat, with rest of the six being spin bowlers.^[14]

Key

Date – Starting date of the Test match Overs – Number of overs bowled in that innings Runs – Runs conceded Wkts – Number of wickets taken Batsmen – The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul. Econ – Bowling economy rate (average runs per over) Inn – The innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken. Result – The result for the India team in that match. † – The bowler was selected "Man of the match". ‡ – 10 wickets or more taken in the match.

Five-wicket hauls

Five-wicket hauls on Test debut by Indian bowlers^[15]

No.	Bowler	Date	Ground	Against	Inn	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Econ	Batsmen	Result
1	Mohammad Nissar	25 June 1932	Lord's, London	England	1	26.0	93	5	3.57	P Holmes H Sutcliffe LEG Ames RWV Robins FR Brown	Lost[6]
2	Vaman Kumar	8 February 1961	Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi	Pakistan	2	37.5	64	5	1.69	Imtiaz Ahmed W Mathias Fazal Mahmood Mahmood Hussain Haseeb Ahsan	Drawn[16]
3	Syed Abid Ali	23 December 1967	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Australia	1	17.0	55	6	2.42	RB Simpson WM Lawry RM Cowper BN Jarman GD McKenzie JW Gleeson	Lost[17]
4	Dilip Doshi	11 September 1979	Madras Cricket Club Ground, Madras	Australia	1	43.0	103	6	2.39	GM Wood KJ Hughes GN Yallop DF Whatmore RM Hogg AG Hurst	Drawn[18]
5	Narendra Hirwani ‡	11 January 1988	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Madras	West Indies	2	18.3	61	8	3.29	RB Richardson IVA Richards AL Logie CL Hooper PJL Dujon CG Butts WW Davis CA Walsh	Won[19]
					4	15.2	75	8	4.89	PV Simmons DL Haynes IVA Richards CL Hooper PJL Dujon AL Logie CG Butts WW Davis
6	Amit Mishra	17 October 2008	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali	Australia	2	26.4	71	5	2.66	SM Katich MJ Clarke SR Watson CL White PM Siddle	Won[20]
7	Ravichandran Ashwin[c] †	6 November 2011	Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi	West Indies	3	21.3	47	6	2.18	KOA Powell DM Bravo S Chanderpaul MN Samuels DJG Sammy R Rampaul	Won[21]
8	Mohammed Shami[d]	8 November 2013	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	West Indies	3	13.1	47	5	3.56	MN Samuels D Ramdin SS Cottrell DJG Sammy S Shillingford	Won[22]
9	Axar Patel	13 February 2021	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai	England	4	21.0	60	5	2.86	DP Sibley MJ Leach OJD Pope JE Root OP Stone	Won[13]

Notes

1. It was a one-off Test series.^[6]
2. As of February 2021, the figures are the third best by an Indian bowler.^[11]
3. Ashwin's five wicket haul came in the West Indies' second innings.
4. Shami's five wicket haul came in West Indies' second innings.