Sachin Tendulkar is a living legend, no question. He's the most complete run-maker of the modern era and holds almost every batting record there is. His haul of 51 Test centuries so far may never be beaten but the man whose achievement Tendulkar surpassed in 2005 held that record for 19 years. Quite astonishing given the explosion in Test series that happened in that intervening period. That man was not a Boycott, Richards, Border, Miandad or Lara, but another Indian, Sunil Gavaskar.
Next week sees the 40th anniversary of his Test debut in the West Indies. In that series, he scored an amazing 774 runs in only four Tests, a record for a debutant that still stands today. His average in the series was a mammoth 154.80, not bad for an opening batsman brought up on the sticky wickets of Mumbai!
At 5 feet 5 inches, he was (and presumably still is!) the same height of his illustrious successor and had the same range of strokes, especially at the beginning of his career. His first international opportunity came on the Indians' tour of the Caribbean in early 1971, opening the batting towards close of play of the Second Test on 6th March in Port of Spain. I'm not sure why he missed the first game but he was rarely if ever dropped thereafter in a 16-year career at the very top.
In that debut he scored 65 and 67 not out, followed in the next match by 116 and 64. He failed in the 4th Test, scoring just 1, but more than compensated by compiling centuries in each of the next three innings, climaxing with a 220. The West Indies opposition at that time were not the formidable outfit they were to become a few years later, especially in the bowling department, but Gavaskar was to be the first real Indian superstar. At that time, they were usually easy meat on away territory but relied on spinners like Bedi, Venkat, Chandrasehkar and Prasanna to give them a sniff of victory on their home wickets. World-class batsmen from the sub-continent were rare in those days, but 'Sunny' Gavaskar changed all that and was to become possibly the finest opening batsman of all time.
His achievements were all the more special because he had to bear the brunt of so many superb but aggressive fast bowlers throughout the 1970s and early '80s. Roberts, Holding, Croft, Lillee, Thomson, Imran, Marshall, Sarfraz, Snow, they all did their best to unsettle him. Indeed, the fiery English paceman at Lord's in 1971 even resorted to barging him when going for a single but Gavaskar simply carried on regardless, his half-century ensuring India saved the match. Indeed, that was largely Sunny's role for India: staving off defeat. His natural elegance and flair was often sacrificed in favour of carefully constructing big innings to occupy the crease for as long as possible. It didn't always win him fans, and his infamous 36 not out against England in the inaugural 60-over World Cup has gone down in history as one of the most bizarre one-day innings ever! ODIs were not Gavaskar's bag. Indeed, in more than 100 matches, he scored just one century, and he left that until his penultimate game at Nagpur against New Zealand, struck in only 88 balls. I'm sure he would have relished playing alongside the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly. With licence to play his shots, he'd have made a fabulous World Cup opening partner for Sehwag!
However, it was in the five-day format that he was such a formidable batsman. More than half his 125 Tests were played in India, yet his best average came against West Indies. The most frequent of his opponents were England, but against them his average was a moderate 38. It was undoubtedly his playing of fast bowling which singled him out for such praise. His footwork and swift reactions could get him out of trouble and he wasn't afraid to hook bouncers. His biggest score was 236 not out, achieved in Madras (as was) against an attack consisting of Marshall, Holding, Roberts and Davis. However, probably Gavaskar's finest moment of many came at The Oval in 1979.
As usual, India were losing the Test series against England and, set a daunting 438 to win in just over a day's play, another certain defeat loomed. However, the talismanic opener put on a double-century partnership with Chauhan and, with Dilip Vengsarkar, progressed the score to 366-2. I remember watching this match and thinking, blimey, they might actually do this! Vengsarkar fell for 53, followed quickly by the young Kapil Dev for a duck. However, while Gavaskar remained at the crease, an amazing fifth day victory looked possible, but time was running out. Then with 49 still needed, Sunny was caught by Gower off Botham and England sensed blood. nevertheless, India still had six wickets in hand and went for the win. Wickets began to tumble but they held on for the draw, just nine runs short of what would have been a world-record fourth innings for a victory. Without Gavaskar's fabulous innings, India would surely have crumbled. Even as an English teenager, he became a bit of a hero of mine that day and he rightly remains revered in his own nation, probably more so than Kapil Dev but perhaps overshadowed by the second Little Master. Tendulkar may be the focal point of India's rise to become the finest cricketing nation in the world in 2011, but it was Sunil Gavaskar who really first put them on the map, all starting 40 years ago in Trinidad.
