Sunil Gavaskar Birthday 2023: As the former cricket celebrates his birthday, mid-day.com revisits five monumental records of his glorious Test career.
Sunil Gavaskar (Pic: AFP)
Sunil Gavaskar, a legend of Test cricket for India and one of the world’s finest players, displayed his mastery of the format on multiple occasions.
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In his international cricket career from 1971-1987, he played 125 Test matches, scoring 10,122 runs. He has achieved trailblazing Test milestones and registered several records in his name.
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As Gavaskar celebrates his birthday, mid-day.com revisits five monumental records of his glorious Test career.
First player to score 10,000 Test runs
Sunil Gavaskar created history on March 7, 1987 as he became the first p,ayer to breach the 10,000-runs marks in Test cricket. He achieved this feat in a match against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. It was the last Test series he played. He is currently the third highest Test run-scorer among Indian players, only behind Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Most Test centuries
He held the record for most Test centuries for a long time before Sachin Tendulkar surpassed him in 2005. Gavaskar broke the record in 1983 with his 30th Test ton surpassing Australian legend Don Bradman. He ended his Test career with 34 centuries.
774 runs in debut series
Sunil Gavaskar announced his arrival in Test cricket with an unforgettable performance in the series vs West Indies. He scored 774 runs in eight innings, including four centuries and one double-century. Till date, it is the highest number of runs scored in a Test series by an Indian batter and 12th overall.
First Indian player to carry his bat in Test cricket
Gavaskar became the first Indian player to remain not out throughout the entire innings of a Test match as he scored 107* in Faisalabad against Pakistan in 1987. Since then, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara have also achieved this feat.
Most hundreds vs West Indies
West Indies boasted a formidable lineup in the 70s and 80s. Their bowling attack was especially strong, Yet, they remained Gavaskar’s favourite when it came to scoring runs. He scored 13 centuries in 27 matches Test matches that he played against them. He is second in the list of ‘Most centuries against one team in Test cricket’, only behind Sir Don Bradman.
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