The cricketing world celebrates the great Gavaskar’s birthday on July 10

By A.C De Silva

An advanced birthday wish to one of cricket’s greatest stars – Sunil Gavaskar of India who will celebrate his birthday on July 10. He was born in the year 1949.

Sri Lanka will never forget the gentleman qualities of Gavaskar even before he got into the Indian Test team when he came to Sri Lanka with the Indian Universities team for a series of matches here and it was in the matches that he played here that he really got the ‘go ahead’ by the Indian Test selectors then for him to open up his Test Cricket career.

In the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay, but it was really when Gavaskar played here with the Indian Universities team that he really got the ‘break’ for big-time cricket.

The records that Gavaskar set are many: Most Test runs and Most Test centuries scored by any batsman. He held the record of 34 Test centuries fr almost two decades before it was broken by Sachin Tendulkar in December 2005.

Sunil Gavaskar was the first Test player to cross the 10,000-run mark. He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the year in 1980. Then in 2012 he was awarded the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for Cricket in India. Gavaskar has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Gavaskar heavy scorer

Lifetime Achievements: He is the only cricketer to have scored centuries in each innings of a Test thrice. He scored 1,000 runs or mor ein a calendar year on four occasions.

He was the first to top score in both the completed innings of a Test on five occasions. He was the first to hit hundreds in three consecutive innings twice. He was first to hit 58 century partnerships with 18 different players.

Gavaskar was widely admired for the fine technique he applied when faced fast bowling. In his early days, he had a high average of 65.45 against the West Indies, who had in their ranks four-pronged fast bowling attack regarded as the most vicious in Test history.

A diminutive player, Gavaskar stood at 165 cm. After missing the first Test due to an infected fingernail, Gavaskar scored 61 and 67 not out in the second Test in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, hitting the winning runs which gave India its first over win over the West Indies.

He followed this with his first century, 116 and 64 not out in the third Test in Georgetown, Guyana, and 1 and 119 not out in the Fourth Test in Bridgetown, Barbados.

In 1977-78 Gavaskar toured Australia, scoring three consecutive Test centuries (113, 127 and 118) in the second innings of the first three Tests at Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne respectively.

Gavaskar was captain of the Indian team on several occasions in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although his record is less than impressive.

In 1986-87, the fourth Test against Pakistan, Gavaskar’s 63 made him the first batsmen to pass 10,000 runs.

Gavaskar almost went through his career without scoring a one-day century. He managed his first (and only ODI century) in the 1987 World Cup, when he hit 103 not out against New Zealand in his penultimate ODI innings at Nagpur.

[Progressive milestones]

1,000 runs (1,009) in his 11th Test at Madras versus New Zealand 1976-77.
2,000 runs (2,052) in his 23rd Test at Lahore versus Pakistan 1978-79.
3,000 runs (3,032) in his 30th Test at Kanpur versus Windies 1978-79.
4,000 runs (4087) in his 41st Test at Bangalore versus Pakistan 1979-80.
5,000 runs (5,086) in his 55th Test at Bangalore versus England 1981-82.
6,000 runs (6,012) in his 69th Test at Karachi versus Pakistan 1982-83.
7,000 runs (7,021) in his 83rd Test at Madras versus Windies 1983-84).
8,000 runs (8,094) in his 100th Test at Madras versus Australia 1986.

100 Test highlights

The highlights of the 100 Tests are: Was concerned in a 168-run stand for the second wicket with solkar after the first wicket had fallen for at zero against the West Indies at Bombay in 1974-75.

This provided the eighth instance of a century partnership for the second wicket after the first wicket had fallen without a run, this remained a record till Unushuman Gaekwad and Dilip Vengarkar bettered it by adding 170 runs for the second wicket.

Guess the batsman to fall at zero-Gavaskar himself at Bangalore in 1978-79 verses the West Indies off the first ball.

Became the first Indian batsman to complete 1,000 runs in a calendar year of 1976. He aggregated 1,024 runs in 1976.

He became the sixth batsman in the world to score four centuries in consecutive Tests after weeks (WI), Fingleton, Bradman, Harvey (Aust) and Barrington (Eng.) Gavaskar’s four centuries were: 128 and 42 overs England at Bombay 1976-77; 3 and 113 versus Australia at Brisbane 1977-78; 4 and 127 versus Australia at Perth 1977-78 and 0 and 118 versus Australia at Melbourne 1977-78.

His zero and 118 in the Test in Melbourne makes him the sixth batsman to register zero and a century in a Test.

Sunil Gavaskar made a double century in his 50th Test (of his total career) when he made 221 at the Oval against England. Javed Miandad of Pakistan made 280 not out and Ken Barrington of England made 256 – they were the other batsman to score a double century in their 50th Test.