As soon as opener Gavaskar scored 58 runs, the Sardar Patel stadium's atmosphere was filled with joy and people started celebrating. Gavaskar became the first batsman in the world to complete 10,000 Test runs.
New Delhi: In the history of Indian cricket, March 7 is a very special day. On this day, in 1987, the legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar set a record in Test cricket. It was an extraordinary feat by the “Little Master”.
Playing against Pakistan, Gavaskar had completed 10,000 Test runs to become the first cricketer to do so.
In March 1987, Kapil Dev-led India and Pakistan, captained by Imran Khan, played a Test in Ahmedabad. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. They scored 395. In reply, India made 323.
As soon as opener Gavaskar scored 58 runs, the Sardar Patel stadium's atmosphere was filled with joy and people started celebrating. Gavaskar became the first batsman in the world to complete 10,000 Test runs.
He achieved this mark in his 212nd innings of his 124th Test. The enthusiasm of people can be estimated from the fact that the game had to be stopped for 20 minutes after the record was created. After that, he was dismissed for 63 runs. However, the match was a draw with the visitors scoring 135/2 in the second innings.
After playing one more Test, Gavaskar bid adieu to Test cricket. He had scored 10,122 runs in 125 Tests, which included 34 hundreds and 45 half centuries.
About six years after that, Australian legend Alan Border (11,174) broke Gavaskar's record.
Although, so far, 13 players have scored more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Gavaskar is always remembered, for his runs were the 'Everest'. He was the first to climb 10k peak.
Currently, Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) is on top of the table. Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Rahul Dravid (13,288), Kumar Sangakkara (12,400), Alastair Cook (12,005), Brian Lara (11,953), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11,867), Mahela Jayawardene (11,814), Border (11,174), Steve Waugh (10,927) and Younus Khan (10,099) have also crossed the 10,000 runs mark in the five-day format.
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