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SUNIL GAVASKAR'S CRICKETING CAREER (1970-1987)





1970-71 vs. West Indies


1. Port Of Spain: c Lloyd b Noreiga 65; not out 67
2. Georgetown: c Carew b Sobers 116; not out 64
3. Bridgetown: c Holder b Dowe 1; not out 117
4. Port Of Spain: c Lewis b Holford 124; b Shepherd 220


Total: 774; Average: 154.8; Centuries: 4; Fifties: 3


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1971 vs. England


5. Lord's: c Amiss b Price 4; c Edrich b Gifford 53
6. Manchester: c Knott b Price 57; c Knott b Hutton 24
7. Oval: b Snow 6; lbw b Snow 0


Total: 144; Average: 24.00; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 2


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1972-73 vs. England


8. Delhi: c Grieg b Arnold 12; c Greig b Underwood 8
9. Calcutta: c Old b Underwood 18; lbw b Old 2
10. Madras: c Greig b Gifford 20; not out 0
11. Kanpur: c Greig b Birkenshaw 69; c Roope b Arnold 24
12. Bombay: b Old 4; c & b Underwood 67



Total: 224; Average: 24.89; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 2


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1974 vs. England


13. Manchester: run out 101; c Hendricks b Old 58
14. Lord's: c Knott b Old 49; lbw b Arnold 5
15. Birmingham: c Knott b Arnold 0; c Knott b Old 4


Total: 217; Average: 26.17; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 1


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1974-75 vs. West Indies


16. Bangalore: c Richards b Holder 14; c Murray b Boyce 0
17. Bombay: b Gibbs 86; c Fredericks b Roberts 8


Total: 108; Average: 27.00; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 1


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1975-76 vs. New Zealand


18. Auckland: c Turner b Howarth 116; not out 35
19. Christchurch: c Burgess b Collinge 22; c Howarth b D.R. Hadlee 71
20. Wellington: c Wadsworth b R.J.Hadlee 22


Total: 266; Average: 66.50; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 1


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1975-76 vs. West Indies


21. Bridgetown: lbw b Roberts 37; c Jumadeen b Roberts 1
22. Port of Spain: c Murray b Holding 156
23. Port of Spain: lbw b Holding 26; c Murray b Jumadeen 102
24. Kingston: b Holding 66; c Julien b Holding 2


Total: 390; Average: 55.71; Centuries: 2; Fifties: 1


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1976-77 vs. New Zealand


25. Bombay: c Cairns b Petherick 119; c Burgess b R.J. Hadlee 14
26. Kanpur: b O'Sullivan 66; b R.J. Hadlee 15
27. Madras: b Cairns 2; st. Lees b O'Sullivan 43


Total: 259; Average: 43.17; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 0


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1976-77 vs. England


28. Delhi: c Willis b J.K. Lever 38; c Woolmer b Underwood 71
29. Calcutta: c Old b Willis 0; b Underwood 18
30. Madras: c Brearley b Old 39; c Woolmer b Underwood 24
31. Bangalore: c Underwood b J.K. Lever 4; c Brearley b Underwood 50
32. Bombay: c & b Underwood 108; c Willis b Underwood 42


Total: 394; Average: 39.40; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 2


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1977-78 vs. Australia


33. Brisbane: c Cosier b Clark 3; c Rixon b Clark 113
34. Perth: c Rixon b Clark 4; b Clark 127
35. Melbourne: c Rixon b Thomson 0; c Serjeant b Gannon 118
36. Sydney: c Rixon b Thomson 49;
37. Adelaide: c Toohey b Thomson 7; c Rixon b Callen 29


Total: 450; Average: 50.00; Centuries: 3; Fifties: 0


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1978-79 vs. Pakistan


38. Faisalabad: Iqbal Qasim 89; not out 8
39. Lahore: c Majid Khan b S. Altaf 5; c Sarfraz b Mushtaq 97
40. Karachi: c Sarfraz b Imran 111; c Bari b Sarfraz 137


Total: 447; Average: 89.40; Centuries: 2; Fifties: 2


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1978-79 vs. West Indies


41. Bombay: b Clarke 205; c Murray b Clarke 73
42. Bangalore: c Shivnaraine b Clarke 0;
43. Calcutta: c Bacchus b Phillip 107; not out 182
44. Madras: c Bacchus b Phillip 4; c Murray b Clarke 1
45. Delhi: c Murray b Clarke 120
46. Kanpur: c Murray b Marshall 40


Total: 732; Average: 91.50; Centuries: 4; Fifties: 1


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1979 vs. England


47. Birmingham: run out 61; c Gooch b Hendrick 68
48. Lord's: c Taylor b Gooch 42; c Brearley b Botham 59
49. Leeds: b Edmonds 78;
50. Oval: c Bairstow b Botham 13; c Gower b Botham 221


Total: 542; Average: 77.43; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 4


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1979-80 vs. Australia


51. Madras: c Wood b Hogg 50
52. Bangalore: c Hilditch b Yardley 10
53. Kanpur: lbw b Dymock 76; c Whatmore b Yardley 12
54. Delhi: lbw b Hogg 115;
55. Calcutta: lbw b Hogg 14; c Hilditch b Dymock 25
56. Bombay: c Hughes b Border 123;


Total: 425; Average: 53.12; Centuries: 2; Fifties: 2


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1979-80 vs. Pakistan


57. Bangalore: c Miandad b Qadir 88;
58. Delhi: c Bari b Sikander Bakht 31; c Bari b Bakht 21
59. Bombay: c Qadir b Bakht 4; c Zaheer b Qasim 48
60. Kanpur: b Bakht 2; c Mudassar b Ehteshamuddin 81
61. Madras: c Qasim b Imran 166; not out 29
62. Calcutta: c Qasim b Imran 44; c Miandad b Imran 15


Total: 529; Average: 52.9; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 2


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1979-80 vs. England


63. Bombay: c Taylor b Botham 49; c Taylor b Botham 24


Total: 73; Average: 36.50; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 0


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1980-81 vs. Australia


64. Sydney: c Marsh b Lillee 0; c Marsh b Pascoe 10
65. Adelaide: b Pascoe 23; c Chappell b Pascoe 5
66. Melbourne: c Hughes b Pascoe 10; lbw b Lillee 70


Total: 118; Average: 19.67; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 1


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1980-81 vs. New Zealand


67. Wellington: b Cairns 23; b Snedden 12
68. Christchurch: c Smith b R.J. Hadlee 53;
69. Auckland: c Smith b Snedden 5; c Cairns b Bracewell 33


Total: 126; Average: 21.00; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 1


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1981-82 vs. England


70. Bombay: c Taylor b Botham 55; c Taylor b Botham 14
71. Bangalore: c & b Underwood 172;
72. Delhi: c Taylor b Lever 46;
73. Calcutta: b Underwood 42; not out 83
74. Madras: c Taylor b Willis 25; c Botham b Willis 11
75. Kanpur: run out 52


Total: 500; Average: 62.5; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 3


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1982 vs. England


76. Lord's: b Botham 48; c Cook b Willis 24
77. Manchester: c Tavare b Willis 2
78. Oval: absent hurt


Total: 74; Average: 24.67; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 0


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1982-83 vs. Sri Lanka


79. Madras: c De Mel b D.S. de Silva 155; not out 4


Total: 159; Average: 159.00; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 0


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1982-83 vs. Pakistan


80. Lahore: c Bari b Sarfraz 83;
81. Karachi: run out 8; b Imran 42
82. Faisalabad: c Salim b Imran 12; not out 127
83. Hyderabad: c Bari b Imran 17; c & b Qasim 60
84. Lahore: lbw b Imran 13;
85. Karachi: c Bari b Tahir Naqqash 5; lbw b Imran 67


Total: 434; Average: 48.22; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 3


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1982-83 vs. West Indies


86. Kingston: c Dujon b Marshall 20; b Holding 0
87. Port of Spain: c Dujon b Holding 1; c Dujon b Marshall 32
88. Georgetown: not out 147;
89. Bridgetown: c Dujon b Holding 2; c Roberts b Garner 19
90. Antigua: c Dujon b Marshall 18; c Dujon b Davis 1


Total: 240; Average: 30.00; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 0


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1983-84 vs. Pakistan


91. Bangalore: lbw b Tahir Naqqash 42; not out 103
92. Jullundar: b Aseem Hafiz 5;
93. Nagpur: c Mudassar b A. Hafiz 50; c Mudassar b Nazir 64


Total: 264; Average: 66.00; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 2


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1983-84 vs. West Indies


94. Kanpur: c Dujon b Marshall 0; c Davis b Marshall 7
95. Delhi: b Gomes 121; lbw b Holding 15
96. Ahmedaba: c Lloyd b Holding 90; lbw b Holding 1
97. Bombay: lbw b Marshall 12; c Davis b Marshall 3
98. Calcutta: c Dujon b Marshall 0; c Dujon b Holding 20
99. Madras: not out 236;


Total: 505; Average: 50.50; Centuries: 2; Fifties: 1


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1984-85 vs. Pakistan


100. Lahore: c Salim Malik b A. Hafiz 48; lbw b Jalaluddin 37
101. Faisalabad: c Qasim Omar b A. Qadir 35;


Total: 120; Average: 40.00; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 0


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1984-85 vs. England


102. Bombay: c Downton b Cowans 27; c Gower b Cowans 5
103. Delhi: c Downton b Ellison 1; b Pocock 65
104. Calcutta: c Gatting b Edmonds 13;
105. Madras: b Foster 17; c Gatting b Foster 3
106. Kanpur: b Cowans 9;


Total: 140; Average: 15.56; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 1


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1985-86 vs. Sri Lanka


107. Colombo: c A. Silva b F.S. Ahangama 51; c De Mel b R. Ratnayake 0
108. Colombo: st. A. Silva b Ratnayeke 52; c A. Silva b Ratnayeke 19
109. Kandy: c A. Silva b Ratnayeke 49; not out 15


Total: 186; Average: 37.20; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 2


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1985-86 vs. Australia


110. Adelaide: not out 166
111. Melbourne: b Gilbert 6; b Reid 8
112. Sydney: b Holland 172;


Total: 352; Average: 117.33; Centuries: 2; Fifties: 0


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1986 vs. England


113. Lord's: c Emburey b Dilley 34; c Downton b Dilley 22
114. Leeds: c French b Pringle 35; c French b Lever 1
115. Birmingham: b Pringle 29; c French b Foster 54


Total: 175; Average: 29.17; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 1


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1986 vs. Australia


116. Madras: c & b Matthews 8; c Jones b Bright 90
117. Delhi: b Gilbert 4;
118. Bombay: c Ritchie b Matthews 103;


Total: 205; Average: 51.25; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 2


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1986-87 vs. Sri Lanka


119. Kanpur: c Wettimuny b Labrooy 176;
120. Nagpur: b Gurusinghe 74;
121. Cuttack: lbw b Ravi Ratnayake 5;


Total: 255; Average: 85.00; Centuries: 1; Fifties: 1


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1987 vs. Pakistan


122. Madras: c Tauseef b Qadir 91;
123. Jaipur: c Miandad b Imran 0; c R. Raja b Tauseef 24
124. Ahmedabad: lbw b Imran 63;
125. Bangalore: b Tauseef 21; c S. Yousuf b I. Qasim 96


Total: 295; Average: 49.17; Centuries: 0; Fifties: 3


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Country Matches Inns. N.O.s Runs Hgst 100s 50s Avg. W. Indies 27 48 06 2749 236* 13 07 65.45 England 38 67 02 2483 221 04 16 38.20 Pakistan 24 41 04 2089 166 05 12 56.46 Australia 20 31 01 1550 172 08 05 51.67 New Zealand 09 16 01 651 119 02 02 43.40 Sri. Lanka 07 11. 02 660 166* 02 03 66.67 TOTAL 125 214 16 10,122 236* 34 45 51.12
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Double Centuries:



4 [220(WI); 221(Eng); 205(WI); 236*(WI)]





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Triple Centuries:



0





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Score in 90s:



5 [(97(Pak); 90(WI); 90(Aus); 91(Pak); 96(Pak)]





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Out for a Duck:



11




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Century in both the innings:



3 [142&220(WI); 111&137(Pak); 107&182(WI)]




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HOW OUT


Caught 137
Bowled 32
LBW 18
Run out 04
Stumped 02
Other 00
Total 198
 
Cont'd
Records of Sunil Gavaskar

�

The first cricketer to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
Highest no. of centuries - 34
The only cricketer to hit a century in each innings of a Test thrice.
Only cricketer to score 1000 runs or more in a calendar year on 4 occasions.
Only cricketer to score 5000 runs or more abroad.
The cricketer to make fastest 1000 runs - in 78 days and 6 Tests.
The only cricketer to top score in both the completed innings of a Test on five occasions. The only cricketer to top score in 58 completed innings.
The only cricketer to have the highest match aggregate on 36 occasions.
Highest runs (774) by a debutant.
Highest runs by any player in a series (774) against West Indies.
Maximum no. of runs & centuries scored by a player against West Indies - 2749 runs & 13 centuries.
Only cricketer to score 4 consecutive centuries at 2 venues - Port of Spain & Wankhede.
The only cricketer to hit hundreds in 3 consecutive innings twice.
Only cricketer with 58 century partnership with 18 different players.

 


Sunil Gavaskar: Watchable Batsman?

In my opinion, Gavaskar was both a treat to watch, and a somewhat boring batsman, depending on the circumstances. If one were looking at Gavaskar batting against say, the Sri Lankan team of his time, then I don't think he gave people with weak hearts too much to worry about :-) He would dig in, knowing fully well that the bowlers were unlikely to come up with something brilliant that could dislodge him. So, as long as he did not do anything very out of the way, he was assured of a decent score. His temperament, defence and his ability to work the ball around for ones and twos would come to the fore. Very effective, but, in all truth, not very exciting, in the regular sense of the word.

On the other hand, there was the Gavaskar we got to see against the great bowlers of his time. Absolutely riveting. The perfectly balanced stance, the footwork, the guts to get perfectly in line with the fastest deliveries and the ability to cleanly put the bad ball away. When his abilities were tested, Gavaskar usually rose to the occasion, and his batting then epitomised the very best that test cricket has to offer. Gavaskar played two or three longish innings against Imran in the early 1980s, one century at Madras, another one in Pakistan, and a couple of other fifty-plus innings in the series in Pakistan in 1982. In the first three tests of that series, Imran came up with what many would rank as the greatest spells by a fast bowler in the history of the game. In one of those tests, Imran cut through the batting, and bowled like a man possessed against Gavaskar, since both of them probably knew that Gavaskar's wicket stood between Pakistan and victory. Till the very end, Imran was not able to dislodge Gavaskar, who carried his bat through the innings. In yet another innings in the first half of that series, Imran bowled an incredibly testing first spell to Gavaskar, but could not get him out. Just as it looked like Gavaskar was taking command (and he was a very commanding batsman, in that he dictated the pace of the game, without smashing the ball around all the time), Imran came back for another spell, and bowled an absolute beauty of an indipper, which bowled Gavaskar middle-and-leg. The amazing part was not that Gavaskar was out, because that delivery would have dismissed any top batsman and his uncle, but that the delivery just about managed to dip in through Gavaskar's 'gate'! The man was in near perfect position to handle even that delivery! Had Imran been even a shade slower, or if the ball had not moved in that very late, he would probably never have been dismissed. With any other batsman, that would have been an 'all ends up' dismissal.

On a similar note, seeing Gavaskar handle bouncers was a pleasure too. His eye would be on the ball till the last split-second even when he ducked, and he would seldom get square-on unless he was playing the short delivery off his body to the legside. I remember one bouncer that Marshall bowled to him in the series in India in 1983. Marshall was at his fastest then, and was bowling with a point to prove after the World Cup loss earlier that year. This particular bouncer pitched on about middle stump, and Gavaskar began to sway out of the way. The bouncer cut back after pitching, and Gavaskar, who was halfway into his sway, then managed to duck under it just in time! A lesser batsman would have been watching the replays at the hospital and wondering what went wrong! He played some magnificient hooks too, in the Delhi and Ahmedabad tests in that series. With few exceptions, they were flat, skimming hooks which did not involve him risking his wicket even when there were fielders on the fence (which was always the case). One of the only times I have seen Gavaskar take his eyes off a short ball was in the World Cup final, 1983, against Garner. That delivery took off from just short of a length and cut back too, but Gavaskar was in very poor form then.

This item is extracted from a larger unpublished Usenet article, and is reproduced with the author's permission.
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Your say on Gavaskar the batsman!


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Sun Jun 22 19:40:23 BST 1997
Message from [email protected] (srinivas c avvari)

GAVASKAR! One word sums it all! The greatest opening batsman. Hailed as the best from Botham to Lillee, and from Haynes to Border. This one man has changed the meaning of Opening Batsman so much, and he gave so much for an Indian to be proud of their country's cricketing abilities, that I pray for one more Gavaskar like to take the ropes and lead the current Indian team out of their misery. Many Tendulkar's and Azhar's might come and go, but there would be only one Sunny Gavaskar. His innings of 94 at Bangalore against Imaran's Pakistanis who eventually won the series 1-0, will never be erased from my mind. On that helluva of a turner, Tauseef Ahmed and Quadir while they were siging the last rites to the rest of the batsmen, there stood the rock called Sunil Gavaskar, putting his life on line for the country (he was not even the captain then!). 94 magnificient runs - in the final, fell to a very bad decision. As Frank Tyson puts his thoughts about this man: A package of concentration, technique and brilliance!!! - ver well said. Words will always fall short to describe him.

Every bowler during his time confesses that the most difficult batsman to bowl to is Sunil Gavaskar. Every team wanted one Sunil Gavaskar to be in their team. There would not be a world XI without Sunil Gavaskar. The best slip fielder, and the gem of a human being. The qualities of this man are too many to mention. Long live Sunny! You gave us Indians a reason to be proud!
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Sun Jun 22 19:18:54 BST 1997
Message from [email protected] (Rama)

The task of opening against the fastest of bowlers is the most arduos one that test cricket offers.In that role one man plays all through his life with complete command and assurance and scores more runs than anyone else.( Border ofcourse went a bit further a bit later.) But one thing makes him stand apart from the others. Look at his record against the west indies , then regarded as the most fearsome pace attack ever, he averages around 66 against them with 13 centuries to boot. There are a few people who deem themselves to have a great knowledge of the game and say that he was an ordinary batsman with remarkable powers of concentration and patience and had no great inborn t that they see his masterly 188 for the rest of the world against MCC. If that does not satisfy them they can see his oval 221 or what is regarded as the best innings ever played on a spinning pitch , a great knock of 96 in his final test innings.
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Fri Jun 20 11:12:24 BST 1997
Message from [email protected] (K.Balakrishnan)

I am one of the die hard fans of Gavaskar during his playing days. I always preyed for him to score hundreds whenever he went in to bat. However I still rate him behind KapilDev when it comes to the most valuable (contributionwise) player India has ever produced. Though Gavaskar has scored so many hundreds and hold many batting records, his contribution to Indian victories was very limited. He played more for himself rather than for the team on many occasions. He failed on many occasions when India was badly in need of his wicket. Most of his centuries were scored in the test matches which bore no significance. He knew his limitations very well and played accordingly though. He was one of the rarest players who volunteerly retired when people he still thougt of good enough for a year or more. He captained India to his best inspite many limitations with the team. He used Kapil to the gratest possible extent. His committment to the profession was simly great.
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Thu Jun 19 05:57:08 IST 1997
Message from [email protected] (Ravi Gorur)

I have had the pleasure of watching Gavaskar play many a long and important innings for India. At first, I felt that he was slow and not very exciting to watch, especially when compared to Srikanth or Sandeep Patil. But after some thought, it struck me that had Gavaskar been as flamboyant as the two just mentioned (and even other players), India would have lost more matches than she did during his time. It is only during the Gavaskar era that as Indians we first knew what it was to win or honorably save test matches. Hats off to Sunny. A player, barely 5 feet 4 inches tall facing a fast bowler who brings the ball at 100 mph+ and chest level, has to be extremely good to survive, let alone excel. That is why it is so unfair when people compare Gavaskar, Viswanath and Tendulkar with players from other countries. The other guys are much taller and are facing slower bowlers most of the time. Our batsmen are way ahead of their competition. Keep it up.
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Fri Jun 13 13:51:16 BST 1997
Message from [email protected] (Rupesh)
He is simply the greatest. The way he used to play off his toes or off his pads was a treat to watch (it was his bread and butter shot). His innings against Marshall & Co. in Delhi in 1983 was I think the best.
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Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 17:07:42
Message from [email protected] (Linus Fernandes)
Gavaskar was the master of the dead bat. The way he'd get on his toes to the climbing delivery and drop the ball dead at his feet was so very frustrating to the pacers.
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Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 11:47:06
Message from [email protected] (Akshay A. Padhiyar)
No-one cricketers has been compared with SUNIL GAVASKAR at present.
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Date: Mon, 27 Jan 97 23:36
Message from [email protected] (Prashant Gadepalli)
Yes, I agree that it was great to watch Gavaskar when the bowling seemed unplayable. One such game was the test against Pakistan (year??). The pitch was turning like crazy and batsmen from both teams were struggling to no extent and surviving, just waiting to get out. Here Gavaskar's impeccable technique was a treat to watch. He was out on 96 and almost saved the game for India (he was out caught in the slips, he said the ball hit his pads..anyway). After the test, Imran said something to this effect,"..even though I was all aggressive about getting him out, I couldn't help but admire his batting.. even after playing so many tests, I haven't seen batting like this'. Though I haven't seen many of gavaskar's innings, I could easily rate this 96 against pakistan as the best I saw him play.
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 96 10:06
Message from [email protected] (VARUN SINGAL)
According to me SUNNY GAVASKAR is the greatest test batsmen that ever played the game.HIS technique , temprament , gut's were his assets where he had the determination to play out the entire day...all the sessions no matter which bowling attack he was facing.He was the"LITTLE MASTER" himself who destroyed the great west-indian bowling attack,the hostile pace bowling of the australian's(lillee & thomson).There can be a debate on who is the gretest...many are contender's but even border who beat SUNNY'S test score record took so many more test's than him.HIS record of 34 TEST MATCH CENTURIES is almost invincible.His greatness fetched him over 10000 run's in test cricket. He is the man....the "LITTLE MASTER".
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Date: Wed, 18 Dec 96 20:02
Message from [email protected] (C.K.Rajan)
Great bowler of fast bowling.He could have made a better leader if not for Indian selectors.
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Date: Thu, 12 Dec 96 01:39
Message from [email protected] (Malcolm Marshall)
One of the best batsmen of all time. At the top, there is very little to separate the guys - each has his own strengths. Mr. Gavaskar's strengths were his immense concentration, technique and determination. A prized wicket for any bowler. I'm sure even my namesake agrees with that!
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Date: Tue, 3 Dec 96 09:44
Message from [email protected] (S.Harikumar)
Gavaskar was the most balanced batsman in test cricket. Seeing him play was like attending a coaching class. He had great reflexes, impeccable technique and fine temperament. Thevery fact that he has been bowled or trapped LBW very few times, indicates how well he judges the line of the ball and its movement. His technique was perfect against pace as well as spin (Remember the innings against Pakistan at Bangalore).
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Date: Sat, 02 Nov 1996 00:48:09
From: S Dharap ([email protected])
Sunny was (may be still is) one of the greatest batsmen the game ever saw. I particularly enjoyed watching him play the spinners. One such over stands out in my memory. England v India in Bombay in 1973. Underwood to Gavaskar. The first five balls were a treatise in art of facing spinners. No, he did not score a single run of those five balls. He did that with a perfectly timed drive between midoff and Underwood of the last ball. But that is not the point. Underwood might still be wondering as to what wrong did he do in those five exquisite deliveries. It was like two raging bulls trying take a position against each other. I wish we had today's technology then. I did not see his last innings in test cricket at Banglore, but from what I know it was obviously one of "The" innings that Imran could recall. I think facing a fast bowler is one part of the story and spinners another. It is not a question of which is better or worse, but what you like most. The little batting that I have dared to, I know one thing. It does not hurt to be smashed by a speedster. It does hurt whenit came slow and you still got done.
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Date: Sat, 2 Nov 96 18:19
Message from [email protected] (Sanjay Khan)
The last two sentences of this article say it all about Gavaskar when facing genuine quicks on a grassy pitch. His performance in the '83 WC Final was gutless to say the least. One needs only to watch the tape of that game to realize that Gavaskar was not fit to hold Mohinder Amarnath's jock strap.
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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 96 11:54
Message from [email protected] (Rafi Jaffari)
I think that he was one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He had all the strokes in the book and he was a very solid and compact batsmen who could cut loose when he wanted to and defend his wicket for hours when he wanted to.
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Date: Thu, 31 Oct 96 15:52
Message from [email protected] (SATHYAMURTHY THULASIRAAMAN)
SUNIL MANOHAR GAVASKAR (SUNNY) My favorite player of his time. There is no one who could probably match his ability. He had patience and stamina to play the full five days of cricket. He is my best HERO.
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Date: Thu, 31 Oct 96 13:56
Message from [email protected] (Kevin Govender)

Mr. Gavaskar is, was and always will be the greatest batsmen to walk the face of the earth. His technique was graceful, shots were fluent, and execussion perfect.

He is definatly one for the coaches book.

I wonder if Mr. Gavaskar came out with a coaching manual. If he did, will someone inform me on how to obtain it.
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Date: Wed, 30 Oct 96 21:50
Message from [email protected] (Ashwin Rao)
Among the batsmen of the 1980's, Miandad, Gavaskar, Border and Richards rate as the best statistically, with 50+ averages. Each was great in his own way but Gavaskar scored over the others as far as the number of centuries per innings goes. This in my opinion is an excellent indicator of a batsman's focus and dedication. Gavskar's average is not substantially higher than the other three because he had several low scores when in poor form. If one compares the four when not in poor form, Gavaskar's performance is much superior. Technically, he was second best only to Boycott. If one forgot about how many runs they scored and just watched how they batted, Gavaskar was the most delightful: technically correct, excellent concentration, a solid defence and stylish ground strokes.
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Date: Wed, 30 Oct 96 15:01
Message from [email protected] (Piyush Shankar Garg)
No doubt Gavaskar was a great batsman. His strokeplay, determination was like a solid rock. In the later part of his cricket he changed himself to a complete one day batsman in the company of Krish Srikanth. In one match against Pakistan or Newzealand there was sort of competition between two great entertainers to score as fast as possible. Who can forget the Delhi test against West Indies in 1983-84, where he scored very fast 126 with many strokes on Marshal.
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Date: Wed, 30 Oct 96 01:42
Message from [email protected] (Siddharth bhandari)
Gavaskar was no doubt a wonderful batsman who was gifted with a quick eye and an enviable temperament. His batting style was thoroughly copybook and his shots were a treat to watch. To add to his greatness is the fact that he has scored maximum number of runs against the dreaded fast bowling quartet of Roberts, Holding, Marshall and Garner.
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Date: Tue, 29 Oct 96 07:00
Message from [email protected] (Faisal Qureshi)
Indeed, Sunny Gavaskar ranks as my favorite batsman of all times. I am an avid follower of cricket; maybe the fact that I am a pure Bombayite has to do with my passion for cricket. Even though I have seen Tendulkar and Kambli during their school matches at Shivaji Park, I somehow only got to watch my cricketing hero, Gavaskar on the TV screen. His technique was impeccable and I think this led to his success against the best pace bowling of his times. We, Indians have traditionally been weak against quality pace, but Gavaskar ushered in an astonishing era of bat.
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Date: Mon, 28 Oct 96 22:11
Message from [email protected] (Krishna Curam)

Sunil Gavaskar has been one of the best batsman India has produced so far. But in no way the best batsman world has seen so far. In fact even among Indians there have been better batsmen. There something strange about Gavaskar's batsmanship. He started with a bang .. he had strokes all over the field, soon he took to more defensive approach. He never was a destroyer of the attack. At best he played for the merit of the ball. Lots of great bowlers in the world never list Gavaskar as one of the best batsmen they have bowled to.

Though Gavaskar started his one day on a sad note ( 1975 world cup stuff ), I think he played quite well in the later stages. I still remember his hundred against New Zealand.
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Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 23:50:13
Message from (FARHAN AHMAD SHAIKH)
There are batsmen like Viv Richards and batsmen like the great Sunil Gavaskar. Both of them scored a lot of runs but in contrasting style.I remember that in first World cup he scored some 40 odd runs playing all the 65 overs and remained notout but he gradually learned to score more quickly in a oneday like he did in a match against England in 1987 worldcup,scoring a century.His technique against fast and spin was superb and read the pitches,the conditions very well. HE was Indias Bradmen,only that Bradmen was a much quick scorer than him,but having the second highest runs in test history shows the greatness of the man. He was indeed one of the best of his times.
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Date: Thu, 10 Oct 96 21:52
Message from [email protected] (Chandresh Popat)

First of all I will disagree with you on the matter of Gavaskar being not one of the greatest. I think he is one of the gretest and the BEST opening batsman world has ever seen.

If you go back to history, DON Bradman had to come to bat when there was already 150 to 250 on the board. But in case of Gavaskar, he used to open the innings (Ofcouse, with out helmet) against the world's fastest bowlers including Holding Marshal, Roberts, Garner, Lillee, you name it.

That takes a great batsmanship, technique, patience, intelligence to handle all this pace attack. If you look at Gavaskar's records, he has scored 18 out of 34 centuries against,Westindies, the Best ever team in the histroy of cricket during his playing times.

Brian Lara / Sachin / or even Sir Don is in no way a better batsmen than SUNIL. If you put these three batsman in situation of Gavaskar, one would realize how great of a Batsman Sunil was, rather is.
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Date: Mon, 7 Oct 96 07:14:19
From: [email protected]

I wish someone came out clear with what happened during the Indian reply to England's score of 330 plus. India scored 134 for 2 (maybe 3) and assuming Gavaskar scored slowly, the run scored at the other end considering only two wickets have been lost does not justify the abuse heaped on Sunil.

If Sunil Gavaskar was guilty of not trying, so were the other gentlemen batting along with him. All these years, I wonder why nobody thought about it.

I only wish someone would give us an insight for India's worst ever performance in a one day international.
 
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