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| Sunday, 1 May 2005 |
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Cricketing eccentricities Sunil Gavaskar, left the field after the 'drinks' and came out to bat as number eight. He stunned everyone, by taking guard as a left-handed batsman. Then, when he opened his account after 38 minutes, he waved his bat in jubilation towards the dressing room. by A. C. de Silva Sunil Gavaskar, is like a god to followers of India's cricket. He has many records to his credit and will fill a book as they range from domestic indian cricket to cricket in England and then to International cricket where he served India, well as an opening batsman and captain. However, before he really came on the Test scene, he had his unpleasant moments too, especially in domestic cricket which many people will not remember. It is said that most great men are eccentrics, Sunil Gavaskar is no exception. He represented Bombay and playing the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Karnataka in Bangalore, his tantrums began. There was crowd violence, on the second day of the match which swallowed up 2 1/2 hours of play, the first innings lead gained all the importance. On third day, when Karnataka's determined approach seemed to have made Gavaskar feel that it was not going to be Bombay's match, he showed that he just could not lump it. First, he indulged in a wordy duel with Brijesh Patel, which, fortunately did not last long. Gavaskar came on to bowl, the last three overs, from the pavilion end. He somewhat insulted the batsman by lobbying the ball. He bowled a wide too. On the final day, the first hour saw Gavaskar standing at covers throughout. His attitude was so strange that it was Vengsarkar, who captained the side. Once he threw the ball wide, with both batsmen standing safely within their crease. The ball crossed the fence. Sunil Gavaskar, left the field after the 'drinks' and came out to bat as number eight. He stunned everyone, by taking guard as a left-handed batsman. Then, when he opened his account after 38 minutes, he waved his bat in jubilation towards the dressing room. He switched over to the right hand for one over, and then was back to the left hand. The first innings deficit of 199 was wiped off in the fifth ball of the last over, by the last wicket. Gavaskar declared, the innings and shook hands with G. R. Visvanath and the umpires. Every Karnataka player was congratulated in the balcony of the dressing room by Dilip Vengsarkar and Sandeep Patil. Gavaskar's defiance was not to be seen as a spontaneous act in the head of the battle, but as proof that player power was getting out of hand. But fortunately he turned into being good cricketer soon. That was good as no one is bigger than the game!.
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