Gavaskar: The Real Master
“It was Gavaskar, The real master, Just like a wall, We couldn’t out Gavaskar at all, Not at all, You know the West Indies couldn’t out Gavaskar at all.” – Lord Relator
Birth Mishap:
Sunil Manohar Gavaskar was born on July 10, 1949. His uncle Narayan Masurekar came to visit the baby at the hospital and observed a little hole near the top of Sunil’s left earlobe. Next day when he visited again, with utter surprise, he found the baby was replaced as the hole near the left earlobe was gone. They searched the entire hospital and found little Sunny was sleeping next to a fisher woman. Thanks to Nan Kaka (he used to call his uncle by this name) Sunil survived from the swap.
The Early Days:
Gavaskar studied at St Xavier’s High School and he was named India’s Best Schoolboy Cricketer of the year in 1966. He scored 246*, 222 and 85 in the final year of secondary education and scored a century against the London schoolboys also. Sunny scored a duck in his debut innings against Karnataka during 1968/69 First-Class season. However, he smashed a century against Rajasthan in his second match and followed it up with two consecutive centuries. Sunny got selected in Indian team to tour the West Indies 1970/71 series.
Embed from Getty Images1970/71 Series in West Indies:
Gavaskar missed the first Test due to an infected fingernail.
The Debut (India Won):
He made his international debut at the Port of Spain in the second Test match of the series. He scored 65 in first innings and 67* in the second innings. Gavaskar hit the winning run in the second Test and gave India its first ever win against West Indies.
The Third (Century) Test:
The third test was played at Georgetown, Guyana. Gavaskar scored his maiden century. He played a beautiful knock of 116 before getting out to Sobers in the first innings. Sunny played another useful knock of 64* in the second innings. The match ended in a draw.
The Fourth(Century) Test:
The fourth Test was played at Bridgetown, Barbados. Gavaskar got out early in the first innings. However, he scored another century in the second innings. Gavaskar was unbeaten at 117. The match was a draw.
The Fifth (Century, Double Century and Winning the Series) Test:
The fifth Test was played at Port of Spain, Trinidad. He scored 124 runs in the first innings. The second innings was very special. Gavaskar played a gem of an innings and scored 220 runs. He spent 8 hours and 49 minutes on the crease and hit 22 boundaries. The game ended in a draw and India won the series by 1-0 margin. This was India’s first ever Test series victory in the West Indies.
Sardesai said, Sunny used to take a fresh guard and ready to go for another ton after scoring the hundred. Gavaskar had a great temperament and his defence was rock-solid. He fatigued the pace attack of West Indies and made full use of loose deliveries.
The Friendly Kanhai:
Rohan Kanhai enjoyed Gavaskar’s batting. He used to field in the slip cordon and whenever Gavaskar played a loose shot, he whispered ‘Concentrate! Don’t you want a 100? What’s the matter with you?”.
Gavaskar scored 774 runs at an average of 154.80 in his debut series and it still holds the world record of highest run scored by any player in the debut Test series.
Sunny in Somerset
Viv Richards and Joel Garner were unavailable to play for Somerset in the summer of 1980. The authority had decided to recruit an overseas player and the contract was given to Sunil Gavaskar. He played his first game against Gloucestershire in the Schweppes County Championship at Taunton and scored 75. Soon Somerset made the trip to the Kennington Oval to face Surrey and Gavaskar played a majestic knock of 138 in the second innings. He also scored 155* against Yorkshire at Clarence Park. However, it was one of the wettest summers in England and Gavaskar had difficulties adjusting with damp English conditions. He played 15 First-Class matches for Somerset and scored 686 runs at an average of 34.29.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Legacy:
Bishan Singh Bedi named his son Gavasinder Singh in honor of Gavaskar. Trinidad Calypso singer Lord Relator wrote a song “It was Gavaskar, The real master…” in Gavaskar’s honor. Gavaskar was the first Test cricketer to score 10,000 Test runs.
Gavaskar is widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time.