Sunil Gavaskar's golden year
Partab Ramchand - 11 December 2001

Scoring 1000 Test runs in a calendar year is pretty common these days, what with the proliferation of matches, but it obviously was not so in the days when international cricket was less frequent. Before 1976, the feat had been performed 10 times, and there was not one Indian in that list. Somehow, then, it seemed fitting that Sunil Manohar Gavaskar should become the first Indian to achieve the feat. Having done it in 1976, Gavaskar went on to record the feat three more times, in 1978, 1979 and 1983 ­ a feat beyond the reach of any other batsman.

After England had led off with 381, Gavaskar opened the innings on the second evening and by stumps had scored 22. But, on the third morning, he was out for 38, 47 adrift of the coveted mark. India were all out for 122 and, in the follow-on, India were 82 for one at stumps on the third day, with Gavaskar batting on 40.

Gavaskar started 1976 with the three-Test series in New Zealand. With a tally of 266 runs, he moved over to the West Indies where, in four Tests, he scored 390 runs. In the return series against New Zealand at home at the start of the 1976-77 season, Gavaskar aggregated 259 runs in the three Tests, which gave him a total of 915 runs, a very impressive one.

But the figure also brought into focus the possibility of Gavaskar completing the rare feat of 1000 runs in a calendar year. For Gavaskar, 85 runs, on the face of it, was not a big task, but the problem was that there was only one more Test in the year ­ the first Test against England to be played at the Feroze Shah Kotla grounds in New Delhi from December 17 to 22. The second Test did not start at Calcutta until January 1 1977 so, in effect, Gavaskar had only one more Test ­ a maximum of two innings - to achieve the feat.

After England had led off with 381, Gavaskar opened the innings on the second evening and by stumps had scored 22. But, on the third morning, he was out for 38, 47 adrift of the coveted mark. India were all out for 122 and, in the follow-on, India were 82 for one at stumps on the third day, with Gavaskar batting on 40.

There was predictably much excitement as play resumed on the fourth morning, December 21. Even though India faced an uphill task in saving the match, chief interest, for the time being at least, centered around whether Gavaskar would get the seven runs required to reach the magical mark. Gavaskar batted skillfully in difficult conditions, and his class and technique stood out prominently in an absorbing duel with Derek Underwood before he finally got to the figure. There were celebrations in the stands, and play was halted for several minutes as spectators ran on to the field and offered felicitations and garlands.

Ultimately, Gavaskar was caught by Bob Woolmer off Underwood for 71. He finished the year with the excellent figures of: 11 Tests, 20 innings, one not out, 1024 runs, averaging 53.89, with four hundreds and a highest score of 156. England won the Delhi Test by an innings and 25 runs but, in a way, the individual honours were cornered by Gavaskar.

© CricInfo

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