That Sunil Gavaskar remains the only Indian to score a double century in a Test in England? (5 August 2002)
In 41 Tests in England since 1932, Indian batsmen have scored 26
hundreds. But only on one of these occasions has an Indian
batsman gone on to make a double hundred against England in
England.
The landmark was breached on the last day of the four-Test
series between India and England in 1979. The Oval, where the
match was being held, was bathed in brilliant sunshine as Sunil
Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan made their way to the middle on the
fifth day. On the fourth evening, the Indian opening duo had
added 76 runs without being separated. This meant that their side
required a further 362 runs at almost a run-a-minute on the final
day to notch a famous series-leveling win.
Ranged against them was an English attack led by Ian Botham and
Bob Willis. Botham, in particular, was in fine fettle and looking
to crown his achievement of becoming the fastest to complete the
double of a 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Tests - he accomplished
the feat in the course of his 34 in the England first innings -
by bowling his side to victory. But they were up against a
Gavaskar, all geared up to do battle. Summoning every ounce of
his famous concentration, the little master began to will his
side towards the target. His determination seemed to rub off on
Chauhan as the Indian hundred and then the 200 was raised without
any fuss. The partnership between the duo yielded 213 runs before
Chauhan fell after making 80 off 263 balls.
Dilip Vengsarkar, who followed, proved a reassuring replacement.
With Gavaskar in complete control of the situation, the duo
turned on the heat as the chase continued in earnest. Tea was
taken with India at 304-1 and nursing visions of a famous win.
The rattled Englishmen sensed the impending danger and began to
deliberately take their time in getting through their overs once
play resumed. The Indian score, though, continued to move along
at a healthy rate and had reached 366 before Botham struck,
removing Vengsarkar. Next man Kapil Dev, promoted up the order as
a pinch-hitter, failed , being dismissed for no score after he
had faced just three balls.
Gavaskar, then, teamed up with Yashpal Sharma to add a rapid 22
runs to the total. But with the score on 389, the Englishmen
inflicted a hammer blow - Gavaskar holing out to mid-on after a
monumental 490-minute long innings which saw him score 221 off
443 balls with the aid of 21 boundaries. The little master’s
concentration had probably been disturbed by the latest drinks
break.
The remaining Indian batsmen tried their utmost to bring off the
win but in the end they found the task too onerous. India
eventually ended up on 429 for eight just nine runs away from a
most famous win. Gavaskar, appropriately, was named the Man of
the Match.
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