Relive a forgotten gem from Indian cricket history! 🏏 In the 3rd Test of the 1989 series against the mighty West Indies at Port of Spain, off-spinner Arshad Ayub showcased incredible grit and control with the ball. Bowling 52 overs in the first innings, he picked up 5 wickets for 117 runs, including 11 maiden overs – a rare feat for an Indian spinner on Caribbean soil.
Although India lost the match by 217 runs, Arshad Ayub’s performance stood tall against a legendary West Indies batting lineup. In the second innings, he bowled another tight spell with 0 for 50 in 18 overs, maintaining pressure throughout.
This was Test match #119, officiated by umpires Andrew Weekes and Clyde Cumberbatch. The big question remains – was Arshad Ayub underrated and dropped too soon? Or was he just a decent bowler who had a few good games?
📌 Watch the highlights of Arshad Ayub’s memorable spell and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
👉 Did he deserve more chances to play for India?
I hope you like the video of Arshad Ayub 5 for 117 vs. West Indies, first innings, 3rd Test, Port of Spain, Apr 1989.
00:00In the third test of the 1989 series at Port of Spain, Arshad Ayub delivered a disciplined
00:06bowling performance against a powerful West Indies side.
00:09The off-spinner toiled hard, bowling a marathon spell of 52 hours, including 11 medians, and
00:15claimed five wickets for 117 runs in the first inning.
00:19Although India eventually lost the match by a half-time margin of 217 runs, Arshad Ayub's
00:25batting spirit and control on a tough pitch did not go unnoticed.
00:29His five-wicket haul was a silver lining in an otherwise difficult outing for the Indian
00:35team.
00:36Cricket fans appreciated Arshad Ayub's efforts, especially against a West Indies batting lineup.
00:41Stacked with legends, let's revisit that impressive spell from Arshad Ayub, a moment pride in Indian
00:47spin-balling.
00:55That is the off-spinner, and Richie Richardson, the batsman.
00:58Well, that turned a mile.
01:01Well, well, well, we've had an hour and 20 minutes of fast-bowling, and now turn to spin,
01:07and who would have thought the ball would have spun quite so much on the first day of a test
01:11match?
01:12Now this will really interest Ayub and Hirwani, the leg spinner, who we haven't seen yet.
01:18Anything that turns like that on the first, very solid.
01:2050 comes up, 51 off 98 balls, so a good tempo.
01:26Still the close-fielders, four of them, around Richardson.
01:29Oops.
01:30Well, I think he had it under control, but very often you see the ball lodge in a pad, or run
01:37down and trickle towards the stumps.
01:39Although he's the front-line offspinner, I'm surprised he's not bobbing around the wicket
01:44with the ball turning that much.
01:45He'll never get him LBW from there.
01:48Ritchie Richardson faces Ayub.
01:58It's in the air, that one, and Hirwani's under it, and he's out.
02:03Well, it wasn't a good shot, really, but Hirwani well positioned a deep backward square leg,
02:09and he's caught most of his morning on the deck.
02:11Here he is again in the helmet.
02:13They all appeal, they're all very certain about that.
02:19I must say the Indians are rather petalant about their appealing, chasing after umpires.
02:31That's a terribly difficult one for the umpire, in all fairness, to decide whether that did
02:35hit the edge of the bat as well as the pad.
02:37Might just have flicked his shirt.
02:39Ayub to Utherton.
02:41A diving catch by Kapil Dev at second slip, and Izzy out.
02:48You can never tell from the reactions of the Indians who think that everything's out.
02:54Very difficult job, umpire.
02:56Watch how late Kapil goes.
02:58The ball's almost three-quarters away to him before he moves, and he makes, in the end,
03:01a very good catch.
03:02Hopper pad, though.
03:03The fact that the wicket's turning a lot.
03:05Oh, but he's gone!
03:09But Richards has...
03:10He can't believe it.
03:11He's standing there.
03:13Well, well, well.
03:14One bail gone.
03:15He tried to cut a ball that was terribly close to the off stump.
03:20Got very cramped in there.
03:22And you can just hear the sensation around the ground.
03:26And congratulations to Ayub.
03:29One thing you never do to an offspinner on a turning wicket is try and cut him,
03:33and that's exactly what Rev Richards, despite his hundred-odd test matches, has done.
03:37Played a penalty.
03:38He's out for 19.
03:39Another low score by the West Indian captain.
03:41Down the roller.
03:44It's up in the air and that looks out and Arthyrton's gone.
03:58A very nasty ball, and Arthyrton halfway forwards.
04:01I wonder what that hit.
04:03Maybe the shoulder of the bat.
04:04He flew fast and high.
04:06He called it one-handed.
04:07That's an interesting statistic that Jeff Dujon, who's principally in as a bat,
04:11to 139 as his highest test score,
04:13Averaging 37, that puts him in the top rank as a player.
04:21Geoffrey Dujon, lovely stylist, super wicket keeper, fine batsman.
04:27Very graceful shot indeed.
04:36Just one run to spin again to Geoffrey Dujon, first over of the day.
04:41It swept, but it's high, and Young Rahman's moving under that, and that's quite a straightforward catch for him.
04:48Good pair of hands, and Geoffrey Dujon takes remarkable liberty, and gets out first over of the day.
05:00It was a very rash shot, so early in the innings, and the pitch of the ball was so short, it wasn't far up enough to sweep.
05:08That's why it went so high in the air. He got a top edge on that, and a very neat catch by Rahman.
05:14Looks like a useful fielder in the making. Now, here's a familiar...
05:17Oh, and he's out. He's stumped. Very next ball, and Marshall can't believe it.
05:25Went through his legs, in fact, that's why he can't believe it.
05:28Waits for the umpire, and the umpire says you're out.
05:31Very neat bit of stumping, because Marshall's body obscured the ball from Kieran Morey.
05:35Indeed, this is the hardest ball of them all for a wicketkeeper to take, because he's completely blinded by the batsman's body.
05:44Morey's stay very still. Must be pretty close to the off-stump as well.
05:48Marshall is out. Stumped Morey ball to Ayub for 18.
05:52Pretty bright innings.
05:55Nearly saw off one fielder. 269 for 7, and a 6 or 2 in there.
05:59Ayub.
06:05The bale was... well, he dropped the bale at short square leg, but that was no stumping. The foot in the crease.
06:14That must have been pretty close to bowling him. The off-stumped turned, and Morey, well, went for the stumping, but...
06:21Bowling analysis. Well, success for Kapil Dev. 2 for 45.
06:24But the main strike bowler, Arshad Ayub, 5 for 117. Just over 2 and over. Not bad at all.
06:33But Hirwani, 2 for 59. And Shastri, 1 for 57. All adding up, I think, rather expensively.
06:41Arshad Ayub played test cricket for a little over two years. Although his career was short, he went through many highs and lows that most cricketer faces over a longer time.
06:52He was a right arm of spin baller, who focused more on bowling accurately than spinning the ball a lot.
06:59He was also a helpful lower-order best man.
07:02Arshad Ayub played against strong teams like West Indies, New Zealand and Pakistan.
07:06In his first series against the West Indies, he showed great potential.
07:10In the first test, he took four out of the five West Indies wickets in the second innings.
07:15It took a brilliant innings from the legendary Viv Richards to stop him.
07:19In the third test, batting at No. 9, he also scored a solid 57 runs.
07:25In the next season, Arshad Ayub helped India win the series against New Zealand by taking 21 wickets in just three tests.
07:32A few months later, he proved that he could perform well outside India, too.
07:37He took 14 wickets in a fourth test against the West Indies in the Caribbean, including two five wicket hauls.
07:42But in the next series against Pakistan, he struggled badly.
07:46In two test matches, he did not take any wicket and gave away a lot of runs.
07:51After that, he was dropped from the team and did not play for India again.
07:55Arshad Ayub was also useful in one-day international.
07:59His most memorable moment came in the 1988 Asia Cup Final in Dhaka.
08:03He took five wickets for just 21 runs, helping India beat Pakistan.
08:09At that time, it was the best bowling performance by an Indian in ODIs.
08:14Even though he was dropped from the national team too soon, he continued to play for Hyderabad and gave his best for many years.
08:20He was a smart captain and had a great domestic record, scoring 2,224 runs and taking 268 wickets.
08:30In the second innings of the test match, Arshad Ayub returned with a figure of none for 15-18 overs.
08:35While he could not add to his five-wicket haul from the first innings, his discipline and control were still on display.
08:42The match was officiated by umpire Andrew Weeks and Clyde Cumberbatch.
08:46Arshad Ayub's performance in this test match reflected both efforts and endurance.
08:52Despite India going down by 217 runs to the dominant West Indian side, his fight with the ball especially in the first inning stood out.
09:01Now here's the question for all cricket fans.
09:03Do you think Arshad Ayub deserved more chances to represent India or was he just an average baller who was fortunate to play at the highest level?
09:11Drop your thoughts in the comments below. We would love to hear your take.
