Sunil Gavaskar turns 71 today; here are some of his legendary records

That is the supremacy of the Mumbaikar, who truly was a legendary batsman in all sense, and had talent, ability and potential that was, prior to his debut, never seen before in Indian cricket. Yes, it might be true that his batting might look a bit boring for Gen Z but his bat, the real SG, faced the mightier challenge of going against West Indies pacers. Gavaskar was the first Indian to be nicknamed the ‘Little Master’ but his records were neither little nor so small. 

He is one of the very few batsmen in the entire world across generations to hold such a world-class record against a quality pace attack like the West Indies of the 70s and 80s. His records are no less staggering either, as he was the first to get 10,000 Test runs and thirty centuries. While a lot might recall the one slow knock he had during his career, his career strike rate in ODIs, however, stands at 62.4 - not too bad for a player of his generation. However, when it came to Test cricket, 10,122 runs and 34 centuries separates the man from the rest of the folks.

He reached the monumental 10,000 run mark in the home Test against Pakistan where he reached the landmark with a sharp single and yes, he was the first one to go past Don Bradman’s record of 29 Test centuries - which he did against the West Indies. The folklore of Gavaskar and the aurora that he carried through generations would always ring a different tune to it. Here are some of his records that speak for itself

Most runs by an Indian batsman in a Test series

Two names that certainly pop-up straightaway when the talk about runs in Test series are Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. However, neither of the two are on par with the original ‘Little Master’, who scored 774 runs in a single series, that too in his debut series, and that too against the mighty Windies. He scored those runs in decimating fashion in 1970-71 in just eight innings. More so, he almost came close to breaking his own record in another attempt against the same opposition, scoring 732 runs. Virat Kohli lies third on this list with his 692 runs. 

His 774 runs are also incidentally the highest ever-scored in a debut series by a batsman, with George Headley, who fell 71 runs short of that record, coming second on that list.  

First batsman in Test history to reach the 10,000 run mark

Until Gavaskar stepped up and put his feet onto the ground, no batsman had ever crossed the 10,000 run barrier in world cricket. A lot of batsmen walked in before him, with even Don Bradman scoring plenty of runs, but none bigger and better than the Indian opener. Gavaskar, in his final series against Pakistan, scored a 63 at Ahmedabad to engrave his name on the cricketing record books. Ultimately, he ended up scoring 10,122 runs in his Test career, a record which was later broken by the Australian legend Allan Border in 1993. 

Four consecutive centuries at two separate venues 

Two grounds where he has excelled the most in his career were Port of Spain in West Indies and Wankhede in Mumbai. While the Mumbaikar grew to be part and parcel of the Mumbai and Indian setup, his records at Port of Spain is almost absurd. The magical run started in 1971, which was the 686th Test match in the history of cricket, when Gavaskar put on a show. Just after his heroics at Bridgetown, where he bailed India out of trouble in the fourth innings with his marathon 117, he was back again amongst the runs at Port of Spain. 

After Syed Abid Ali’s dismissal, Gavaskar quickly took over the responsibility, scoring a 124 before edging one off David Holford. In the second innings, he butchered the Windies bowling to register 220 runs against his name. In 1976, when he returned back to the Caribbean Island, he notched up two more centuries at the same venue, a 156 and a 102, making it four in a row. Back home, in Mumbai, too, he notched up four consecutive centuries at the Wankhede - 119, 108, 205 and 123. 

First Indian fielder to take 100 catches in Test cricket

This is another record unique to the little master. His ability to grasp the ball cleanly into his hands was always one of his trademarks in world cricket. In a never-seen-before fashion in Indian cricket, Gavaskar at slips was one of the most reliable fielders before Rahul Dravid took over that position. The Indian opener has 108 catches under his name in Test cricket, which was the best by any outfield player in the Indian colours for a long while.