Sunil Gavaskar was the first man to score 10,000 runs in the Test cricket. He completed the milestone on 7th March 1987 against Pakistan at Ahmedabad. He finished with 10,122 runs in test cricket
Sunil Gavaskar, one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen, turned 69 on 10th July 2018. Many players have big records but nobody ever played cricket straighter than Sunny Gavaskar. He is a textbook of cricket technique. His records suggest he was a great cricketer, of course, but how many of you have seen a batsman play a bowler's back drive such that it travelled just about four inches past the stumps on the opposite end to reach the boundary even before the bowler stopped in his follow through? And do this consistently at least once in every innings? How many batsmen have you seen bending their knees and delicately late cutting a spinners delivery almost out of the wicket keeper's gloves? The Late cut seems to have retired from Indian Test Cricket along with Sunil Gavaskar. How many 5'4" batsmen have you seen play a highspeed short ball, aimed at his forehead, in such a way that it dropped near his feet and stayed there till a close-in fielder picked it up? All this without even a helmet to wear! Gavaskar served Indian cricket for 16 years before saying goodbye to the game in November 1987.
The Little Master was a delight to watch, and on his birthday, we bring to you his most memorable innings!
First to 10000: Sunil Gavaskar was the first man to score 10,000 runs in the Test cricket. He completed the milestone on 7th March 1987 against Pakistan at Ahmedabad. He finished with 10,122 runs in test cricket.
34 Centuries: Gavaskar ruled the list of most centuries for a long time. He scored 34 centuries in his 125 Test matches. The record was broken by Sachin Tendulkar in 2005.
13 centuries against West Indies: Sunil Gavaskar loved playing West Indies. The Windies were almost invincible in the 70s and 80s but Gavaskar scored 13 centuries against them in 27 matches played.
774: Gavaskar is the only man to score 774 against West Indies in a series and he achieved this feat as a debutant.
Carrying the Bat: He is first Indian to carry his bat throughout the innings. He scored 127 not out in that innings in Faisalabad Test against Pakistan.
20.68: Sunil Gavaskar's strike-rate in the 1975 World Cup game against England, where he scored 36* off 174, was 20.68. It's the lowest for any player in an ODI innings of minimum 100 balls.
13 years 110 days: Gavaskar scored his maiden ODI century 13 years after his debut- the longest span between a player’s debut and maiden ODI hundred.
He is the only cricketer to score 5000 runs or more abroad.
The Little Master was first cricketer to make fastest 1000 runs - in 78 days and 6 Tests.
He is the only cricketer to top score in both the completed innings of a Test on five occasions.
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