Sunil Gavaskar turns 76: Looking back at his 1971 Test record as Shubman Gill looks to break it against England

Shubman Gill (L) and Sunil Gavaskar

As Sunil Gavaskar turns 76, it is pertinent to look at his finest hour - the 1971 victory against the West Indies when he announced himself to the world with 774 runs in the series, a record that could finally be broken by Shubman Gill in this ongoing tour of England.

"If anyone told me at the start of the series that I would score 774 runs in the Test matches after missing the first Test and score more than 1,000 runs on the tour I would have laughed it off. Of course, it exceeded my own expectations and that too by a country mile," Gavaskar said.

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"In fact, you know what? I wouldn’t mind if I had scored 350–400 runs less in the Test matches and passed on the rest of the 400 runs to ML Jaisimha and Salim uncle. Jaisimha, as you know, was my childhood hero and it wasn't great to see him struggle and not score. Salim uncle was a very special man and I would have been happier if I could pass on the 400 runs between them, which would have ensured that the two of them made the cut for the England tour later on in the year."

Gavaskar started the tour with a well-made 82 in the warm-up game in St Kitts, an early indication of what he was capable of. That’s when, as KN Prabhu reported, the crowd witnessed the free-flowing side of the 21-year-old sensation. "Gavaskar proved that he could open the innings in the orthodox fashion as we last saw him and also bat like a gay cavalier," wrote Prabhu.

When asked what his mental make-up was like ahead of his Test debut, an issue he had touched upon to a degree in Sunny Days, Gavaskar was unnaturally modest: "I am no longer a spring chicken, you know. It has been 54 years," he said. "I hardly think back to my debut anymore." Upon seeing me unswerving, he started to open up. "When we left for the West Indies, the chairman of the selectors, Vijay Merchant, had addressed the team at the Cricket Club of India," he recalled.

"Much to my surprise, he picked me as the player he hoped would score a lot of runs in the Caribbean. I had not even made my debut and here the legendary Vijay Merchant had reposed faith in me. It was both exciting and daunting at the same time. To be honest with you, there was a degree of apprehension in my mind because I had not played the Duleep Trophy before I played Test cricket. I had played school, college and university cricket and thereafter I was fast-tracked to play Ranji Trophy for Bombay. What I had not played was the Duleep Trophy and, in those days, the best players always played in the Duleep Trophy. In the only opportunity that I had of playing the Duleep Trophy, West Zone lost in the very first game in what was a knockout format and it meant I had no further opportunity of testing myself at the highest level back home. This had left me with a degree of apprehension as we travelled to the West Indies and, ahead of the Test match, I did think back to the question of whether I was ready to open for India at this level."

Trinidad not only provided answers to Gavaskar himself but also to the rest of the world. His 65 and 67 not out in the first and second innings respectively were indication that India had finally found their successor to Merchant and, to echo Prabhu, someone who had the ability to be an all-time great of the game.

With Abid Ali for company, Gavaskar guided India to the target on day 4 of the Test and sealed the win with minutes of the day remaining.

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"Finally when the leg spinner Arthur Barrett dropped one short I dispatched it to the mid-wicket fence to finish the game. Scoring the winning runs for India against the West Indies in Trinidad on debut—no cricketer could have asked for more! As we were walking back to the pavilion Sir Gary came across and congratulated me. It was Sir Gary, the greatest of them all. I had grown up seeing and reading about Sir Gary and Rohan Kanhai. And here I was playing against them and winning a Test match for my country against them for the very first time." There was elation in Gavaskar’s voice, even after fifty four years of the victory.

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