Happy Birthday Sunil Gavaskar: A look at the memorable moments of the former India opener as he turns 74

Former India captain and opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar, also known by the nicknames ‘Sunny’ and ‘Little Master’, is undoubtedly one of the greatest Indian cricketers to have graced the gentleman’s game. Breaking several batting records while setting new records during his illustrious career, bursting into cricket limelight when he faced the Caribbean pacers in his maiden Test series overseas against the mighty West Indies, turned 74 on Monday. ,

Many of his historic and heroic innings in the longest and, arguably, toughest format of cricket came between 1971 and 1987. His many memorable innings, which came on some less hospitable surfaces, earned him a place in the ranks of the giants.

After learning his first lessons with Willow in the shanties of Mumbai, the city where he was born, Sunny was as busy at home playing some of the bountiest bars in the Caribbean as he was on the rank turners of the Indian subcontinent. An iconic member of India’s first World Cup-winning team in 1983, Gavaskar once held the record for most centuries in Tests. The Mumbaikar, who scored over 10,000 runs in red-ball cricket, ended his career with 45 fifties and 34 hundreds.

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There is no better way to celebrate the 74th birthday of the cricket legend than by revisiting some of his best innings and records, some of which have stood the test of time. In March 1987, Gavaskar became the first cricketer to reach 10,000 Test runs, a milestone that no one had imagined at the time, much less aspired to. The ‘Little Master’ had 10,122 runs when the legend took the wraps off and walked into the cricketing sunset.

The numbers are staggering in cricketing parlance, all the more so when one considers that they were scored on some of the most hostile surfaces ever, such as Michael Holding, Andy Goberts, Joel Garner, Jeff Thompson and Dennis Lillee.

Sunny held his record for most Test centuries for a long time. Gavaskar represented India in 125 Test matches, scoring 34 centuries. The record seemed unimaginable to many until ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar dwarfed it in 2005.

1__9__8__3__ World Cup Winner_
233 International. Play
13,214 International. Run __
The first batsman to score 1__0__,0__0__0__ in Tests ____

Here’s wishing former Sunil Gavaskar #TeamIndia Captain and great batting – wish you a very happy birthday. , pic.twitter.com/WmZSyuu0Lj

– BCCI (@BCCI) 10 July 2023

The ‘Little Master’ scored 13 centuries in 27 Tests against the West Indies. As history testifies, the Caribbean team was a strong red-ball team in the 70s and 80s, but where most batsmen failed or did not last, Gavaskar triumphed and against some of the most dangerous fast bowlers in the world. Moving on to crossing the batting milestone.

After success in the first series against the West Indies in 1971, Gavaskar failed to cross the three-figure mark in his next eight Tests against England. But the opener dispelled all doubts by scoring a brilliant 101 in India’s first innings on their Test tour of England in 1974. He then scored a half-century in the second innings as well, but his heroics with the bat could not help India avoid defeat in the contest.

Gavaskar was rarely surprised or intimidated by West Indian fast bowlers like Holding, Marshall, Robbets and Garner. He scored 774 runs in his debut series against West Indies in 1971 and also had a double century.

He scored a century and a double century in the final Test. He scored 220 in India’s total of 427 in the second innings, with only one other batsman registering a score of over 50. The match ended in a draw, ensuring India’s first historic Test series win in the Caribbean.

While his exploits with the willow are the stuff of legend, he was also a shrewd fielder and a leader. Not counting wicket-keepers, he was the first Indian fielder to achieve the feat of a century of catches in Test cricket.

For the record, he took an incredible 108 catches in his Test career.