Former Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar, known as the 'Little Master', turns 74 on Monday and was born in 1949 in Mumbai . Among the greatest opening batsmen of his generation, Gavsakar became the first player to breach the 10000-run mark in Test cricket. He is also one of the most reputed commentators today and is a columnist for various newspapers.
Sunil Gavaskar's early days of his professional career:
The right-handed batter made his first-class debut for Vazir Sultan Colts XI against a XI from Dungarpur in the 1966-67 season and made his first appearance for Bombay against Karnataka in the 1968-69 season against Karnataka. After some consistent outings in the domestic circuit, Gavaskar got the nod for the 1970-71 tour of the West Indies.
He had a dream tour of the West Indies, hammering 774 runs in 4 Tests at 154.80, including an astounding four centuries. In the process, he also became the first Indian to aggregate over 700 runs in a single series and remains the only one to do so till date. While his England tour that year ended poorly for him, he scored a decent 227 runs at 37.83 in the return series.
Sunil Gavaskar's infamous innings in the 1975 World Cup:
While Gavaskar kept the runs coming in red-ball cricket, he struggled to maintain the required tempo in the one-day format. Thus came one of the most forgettable innings in a World Cup when the opener consumed 174 balls for staying unbeaten at 36 against England in pursuit of 335 in 60 overs.
However, Gavaskar tasted World Cup success in 1983, when India beat two-time and defending champions West Indies in the final by 43 runs. Nevertheless, the classy batter managed only 59 runs in six innings that tournament.
Sunil Gavaskar overtakes Don Bradman:
The year 1983 saw Gavaskar break the record of Geoffrey Boycott's world record of 8114 runs in the third Test against the West Indies. In the sixth Test of the series, he passed Don Bradman's record of 29 Test hundreds.
Gavaskar retired from international cricket in 1987 after the 1987 World Cup in the sub-continent. He retired with a massive 10122 runs under his belt in 125 matches averaging an astounding 51.12 with 34 centuries.
While Gavaskar captained India in 47 Tests, he lost 8 of them and won 9. As far as ODI cricket goes, he skippered India in 37 matches and managed to win only 14.
