Sunil Gavaskar was the original gold standard of Indian batting and he created records that have made every Indian proud even in the modern era.
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In the 1960s and 70s, India was trying to find their feet in the cricketing world. Ever since making their Test debut in 1932 against England, they had flattered to deceive on a regular basis. They had success at home against England in 1952. Overseas, though, they continued to struggle on a regular basis. In 1968, they won their first overseas tour when they beat New Zealand 3-1. But, they had still not reached the pinnacle of success that was expected of them.
But, one individual came and changed the entire complexion of Indian cricket. His batting and the approach he took towards the game made it a path-breaking experience for many Indians. He set records that were hailed as the original benchmark for greatness. The runs, averages, and the conditions in which he got them made Sunil Gavaskar the ultimate gold standard of Indian cricket.
Now, imagine a situation in the 70s and the 80s, an era that was dominated by hostile pace bowlers. You had the likes of Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, and Malcolm Marshall of the West Indies. Australia had Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. England had the likes of Chris Old, Bob Willis, and Sir Ian Botham. Pakistan had Sarfraz Nawaz and Imran Khan. New Zealand was boosted by the guile of Richard Hadlee.
Sunil Gavaskar tackled them all with brilliance. He had 13 centuries against THAT West Indies team at an average of 65. But, one disclaimer. He never actually faced all four of them together. In his debut series, all these players were never there. But, the West Indies were a fearsome proposition even without them. Gavaskar smashed 770 runs, with a highest of 220.
India won the series 1-0 and it was their first series win in the Caribbean. 1971 proved to be the year where India achieved historic series wins in England and West Indies. Sunil Gavaskar had a big role to play in that. His immaculate defense, brilliant powers of concentration and adaptability helped India gain a lot of self-belief.
Tackling those quick bowlers at a time without a helmet is a tribute to the genius of Gavaskar. Apart from the 13 hundreds against the West Indies, he had eight against Australia. In addition, he had five hundreds against Pakistan and four against England. Perhaps, the only country that he slightly struggled with was New Zealand. But, his average against them was 43. Out of his 34 centuries, Gavaskar hit 18 away from home. Thus, he was one of the first players to break away from home comforts and score more centuries away. Out of the 34 centuries, 22 of them saw India avoid defeat. That is a true sign of a match-winner in many cases.
There are so many instances of his match-winning knocks. The glory of 71 in which he had scores of 120 and 224 made him the ultimate legend. His 221 in a chase of 438 at The Oval in 1979 is stuff of folklore. Gavaskar was the only one who managed to tackle the England bowlers as they made a dash for a score of 438. In the end, India would agonizingly close on 429. Gavaskar became the first Indian to score a century in all the major Test venues in Australia.
Gavaskar hit 113 and 127 in Brisbane and Perth. He hit 118 in Melbourne. All these hundreds came in the 1977/78 season in which India lost the series 2-3. Seven years later, Gavaskar hit tons in Sydney and Adelaide, with his knock of 172 being the highest for him in Australia.
There are also some controversial moments in Gavaskar’s life. The LBW incident in the Melbourne Test against Australia was one such incident. In the 1981 Test, Gavaskar was trapped LBW by Denis Lillee but he protested that he had hit the ball. Angered by the decision, Gavaskar walked off with his partner and threatened to forfeit the match. However, better sense prevailed and only Gavaskar went off.
The 1975 World Cup should have been a grand occasion. England was playing India. But, Gavaskar’s go-slow approach in which he hit 36 off 174 balls confounded plenty of fans. Gavaskar managed only one hundred in his entire ODI career, although that came in the World Cup of 1987 against New Zealand.
There was tremendous controversy when Gavaskar dropped Kapil Dev in the 1984 Kolkata Test against England. It was believed that Kapil’s poor show with the bat led to his drop. But, many believed that Gavaskar was responsible. Years later, Gavaskar would clarify that it was a selector and not him who had the say in Kapil being dropped.
In his final Test, Gavaskar scored a brilliant 96 on a dustbowl against Pakistan in Bangalore. For India, it would be the ultimate heartbreak as they lost by 16 runs and the series. It was a sad way for Gavaskar to go. But, there are some records which still create plenty of awe among fans.
Gavaskar was the first person to breach the 10,000-run mark in Tests. His tally of 34 tons was the highest for an individual for a long time until Sachin Tendulkar surpassed it. 10,122 runs at an average of 51 with 34 hundreds. Sunil Gavaskar is much more than numbers for Indian cricket. In the history of Indian cricket, Gavaskar is the original gold standard of success.
