Sunil Gavaskar - a cricketing wonder that emerged in the Indian Ocean

By A.C De Silva

A cricketing wonder who emerged in recent times in India was Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. The pint-size batsman was born on July 10th 1949 in Bombay. Popularly known as Sunny Gavaskar, he played for India Somerset and Mumbai.

India's one-time cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar said several years ago that in his opinion it is not fair to call the day he made his 29th Test century in New Delhi against the West Indies and compare it with 'the legendary Sir Donald Bradman who made 29 Centuries.

"The legendary Sir Donald Bradman hit up 29 centuries in only 52 Tests whereas Gavaskar achieved in his 95th Test (166th innings). Had Bradman played 95 Tests, he would probably have scored 75 hundreds" the former Indian star opener said.

Gavaskar scored 156 in first Test

Gavaskar was at the crease for 224 minutes faced 128 balls and struck two sixes - one off Marshall and the other off Gomes and 15 fours. His second wicket partnership with Vengsarkar realised 178 runs in 179 minutes. Vengsarkar also went on to score a hundred. Against the West Indies in the 1st Test in 1975-76 at Port of Spain, the Indian star Gavaskar scored 156. In the 3rd Test at Port of Spain, he made 26 and 102.

In 1976-77, against New Zealand in the first Test at Bombay, he scored 119 and 14. He continued his success with the bat.

Then against Sri Lanka in the 1986-87 in the first Test at Kanpur, he scored 176.

Sunil Gavaskar was the only cricketer who was invited by the Bangladesh Cricket Board as a special guest when they hosted the Indian for the first ever Test match after attaining official status.

All there statistics prove the class of Sunil Gavaskar who dominated Indian Cricket since he made his debut in 1970-71 against the West Indies and until he bowled out of cricket playing against Pakistan in 1986-97.

Gavaskar set many records

A right-hand bat, he set many records in domestic cricket and a few international ones, too. He debuted for India against the West Indies at Port of Spain in the second Test in 1970-71. He was 21 years old then and amassed 774 runs in Tests.

As an opening bat, he had to bear the brunt of speedsters of various countries and acquitted himself remarkably well.

In the first Test at Manchester in 1974, Sunil scored 101 and 58. In the first Test at Auckland against New Zealand in 1975-76, he scored 116 and 35 not out.

Sunil Gavaskar - the opening batsman became the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket not long after tea in the fourth Test against Pakistan at the Gujarat stadium. He achieved the beat when he hit the ball for a two to take his score to 58. His achievement was greeted by a crowd invasion that lasted for 20 minutes and that obviously disturbed his concentration because, in his penultimate Test, he only added five more runs before Imran Khan had him 'leg before.'

Honoured by Wisden

During this period, he scored the highest number of centuries and his consistency was remarkable for an opening day against fast bowling of varying pace and swing.

In 1980, he was honoured when he was picked as the "Wisden Cricketer of the Year'. After his retirement, he played many other roles and enhanced his reputation as a complete personality.