Which cricketer has bowled the longest spell in Test cricket history?
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj went through a marathon to bowl 40 consecutive overs against the West Indies in Trinidad on Saturday, August 10. He finished with figures of 4/76 to help the Proteas bundle out the hosts for 233 and take a 124-run lead in the first innings.
Depending upon the match situation and assistance from the surface, there have been a few notable players, who have gone the extra mile to help their respective teams prevail in the longest format. For a few of them, their efforts went in vain while for others, it paved the way for their team's victory.
Let's take a look at the player who has bowled the longest-ever spell (coming to bowl in every alternate over) in the longest format.
Narendra Hirwani holds the record for bowling longest spell in Test cricket
India's Narendra Hirwani is the record-holder for bowling the longest spell in the red-ball cricket history. The right-arm spinner made his international debut against West Indies in January 1988 in Chennai and stunned the cricket fraternity by picking a total of 16 wickets. The performance helped him to cement his place in the national side.
In the third test match of India's Tour to England in August 1990 at The Oval, Hirwani etched his name into the history books by sending 59 overs without a break (apart from scheduled intervals like Lunch and Tea).
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first, which proved to be a good decision. India's opener Ravi Shastri was terrific with his resilience on the crease, amid other top-order batters failing to convert their starts.
Shastri stitched together a 139-run stand for the fourth wicket with skipper Mohammad Azharuddin to steer the team on the right path. After Shastri was dismissed for an astounding knock of 187 off 436, Kapil Dev slammed 110 off 142 balls. As a result, India declared on 606/9.
In response, England were bundled out for 340, with Manoj Prabhakar taking four wickets. As a result, the hosts were enforced a follow-on. After Azharuddin left the field due to a sore heel, stand-in captain Shastri decided to use Hirwani for an extended spell to extract help from the footmarks on the pitch.
Interestingly, Hirwani bowled 59 consecutive overs and gave away 137 runs while only taking a solitary wicket of opposition captain Graham Gooch. The English wanted to draw the match and employed an ultra-defensive approach.
David Gower was the top-scorer for England, as he remained unbeaten on 157 off 270 balls, as the side ended the game on 477/4. As a result, they won the series 1-1 as well.
Although Hirwami's impressive effort was in vain, his endurance and fighting spirit were there to see for the fans and cricket fraternity. He went on to play 17 Tests and pick up 66 wickets for the country, with his last appearance coming in 1996.