Page "Richie Benaud" Paragraph 28

Benaud's bowling reached a new level on the return leg of Australia's overseas tour, when they stopped in the Indian subcontinent in 1956-57 en route back to Australia.

In a one-off Test against Pakistan in Karachi, he scored 56 and took 1 / 36 as Australia fell to defeat.

He claimed his Test innings best of 7 / 72 in the first innings of the First Test in Madras, allowing Australia to build a large lead and win by an innings.

It was his first five-wicket haul in a Test innings.

After taking four wickets in the drawn Second Test in Bombay, Benaud bowled Australia to victory in the Third Test in Calcutta, sealing the series 2-0.

He took 6 / 52 and 5 / 53, his best-ever match analysis, ending the series with 113 runs at 18. 83 and 24 wickets at 17. 66.

It was the first of his successes against India, against whom he took his wickets at an average of 18.

This put him in a small group of spinners whose career averages were inferior to their performances against India, generally regarded as the best players of spin in the world.

At this stage of his career, he had yet to perform consistently with bat and ball simultaneously, apart from his breakthrough series in the Caribbean.

He had managed, in the 14 Tests since then, 559 runs at 27. 95 and 67 wickets at 24. 98.