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“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 - in the famous calypso composed on Sunny)
For a man of
his height and stature to stand up brave against the fearsome four
and pile up runs after runs is a feat in itself. The number of
centuries he hit off the best pace quartet is proof of the man’s
caliber. There was a time when international teams did not want to
tour India as they thought the matches were one sided. They had
scoreboards to prove that. 0 for 4, 58 all out, India all out
twice in a single day? All a fast bowler had to do was take a long
run up and Indian batsmen would start inching towards square leg
umpire. These were the opinions of others about Indian cricketers.
Critics didn't want India to be given 5 days Test matches. So much
so that Mr. Godfrey Evans, ex England wicket keeper wanted
spectators to be charged fewer amounts for the matches against
India. Sunil Gavaskar single handedly changed all that. He was
gutsy, brave and a master in his own right and he was a player who
was ready to take on the world and try to match and even
outperform their best.
He
was the first cricketer to make 10, 000 runs and his record of
34 test centuries still stands untouched, and he was a lock for
sports
betting
The
fact that Sunny went on to score 10,000 runs is a tribute to the
man’s enormous talent. His amazing concentration was the key to
his success. The zest in him to succeed against any opposition
was commendable. The belief in his ability, that he was better
than any opposition, was what got him to create records, which
Indians at one stage only dreamt of. His record is such that he
must remain one of the all-time greats.
Unlike
other Indian batsmen, he played pace with relative ease: he could
hook if he wanted to, but more often he would leave the bouncer
alone and watch it sail by. His defense was well organized, and he
was a very intelligent batsman who performed well under pressure.
Indeed he has played some of his best innings under intense
pressure.
Gavaskar's
221 at the Oval in 1979 were one of the best innings ever played
by any batsman, particularly bearing in mind the important fact
that India started their second innings in the seemingly
impossible position of needing 438 runs in 500 minutes to win.
Gavaskar was by far the best batsman of either side in the series
- and England had Boycott, Gooch and Gower. His technique was
infallible and his concentration level was unbelievably high. He
was a great back-foot player. A perfectionist, very correct and
compact, typically in the English mould.
Sunny
is a very proud Indian. He wore the Indian colors on his chest
with pride and aplomb -- a man who was unruffled in testing times.
Gavaskar, like Bradman, was very much a public figure, winning the
highest of national and state awards. But for all that, he is
easily accessible, though he doesn't suffer fools gladly. He has
the charm and the ability to disarm his critics and win friends
with witticism and on tours abroad, one had to watch out for the
practical jokes played or inspired by him.
As
a captain, Gavaskar looked a born leader, even during his
apprenticeship under Wadekar when, from the slips, he showed his
understanding and appreciation of good bowling and fielding. He
himself was an outstanding performer in the slips, where he
finished up with 108 catches. In his early years as captain he was
often faulted for his tactics and for his virtual neglect of spin
bowlers Shivlal Yadav and Dilip Doshi. But he graduated with
honors in the home series of 1981-82 when he made Keith Fletcher,
the most professional of captains, look like an amateur.
Gavaskar's
batting records are amazing by any standards. Apart from being the
first to score 10,000 runs in Tests, he had set the record of 774
runs at an average of 154.8, the highest for any batsman in his
debut series. And when comparisons are made with other
run-getters, it must be remembered that Gavaskar never had an easy
series in his career.
All
his runs were made against the quick bowlers of Australia,
England, West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand. They were made in
the opening position, against "pace like fire". It was
only when Chetan Chauhan, and then Kris Srikkanth, came on the
scene that he had someone to share "the burden and the heat
of the day".
Wisden,
while nominating him in its top five for 1980, summed up his
batting as follows: He sets his sights high as he builds his
innings with meticulous care, limiting himself to the strokes he
knows best -- drive through the covers, past the bowlers and
between mid on and midwicket. But when he lets his hair down, his
range of shots and the power behind them are astonishing.
The
shrewdest analysis came from Ted Dexter ascribed Gavaskar's
success to his playing the game with the broadest bat in the
world. He wrote that Gavaskar had the broadest bat in the
game, and defined this metaphysical concept as "the
ability of a great batsman to make more use of the width of his
bat than the others."
That
"broad bat" was very much in evidence when he played
what he claims was his best innings -- 54 in the gloom of Old
Trafford in 1971. There were two more remarkable innings, his 71
in the second innings of the Christchurch Test of 1976, which
contained three hours of disciplined batsmanship which was ended
by Howarth's superb catch in the gully; an innings played on a
pitch of unpredictable pace and bounce and it saved the day for
India. The second knock of 107 in the December Test of 1978 in
Calcutta against the West Indies; in the humid bowl of Eden
Gardens. Phillip, Clarke and Marshall made the ball swing in the
air and seam off the pitch, and Gavaskar played it all with the
assurance of a master who knows where his off stump is. There was
a time when critics noticed a "corridor of uncertainty"
in this area whenever he played bowlers like Lillie and Hadlee,
but he had the power and ability to steer himself out of harm's
way.
And
finally there was the masterly innings of 96 on a turning track
against Pakistan in the Bangalore Test of 1987, which dispelled
any doubts about his ability to deal with spin on a receptive
wicket.
Gavaskar
arrived at the highest level just when India needed someone of
caliber to sustain the batting. He said farewell to the game with
a century in the Biennial Test of August 1987 at that holy of
holies, Lord's, to secure the only distinction that had thus far
eluded him.
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