Sunil Gavaskar’s Birthday Special: Five Extraordinary Test Records achieved by the ‘Little Master’

One of the best players in the world and legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar frequently demonstrated his mastery of the format.

Between 1971 and 1987, he represented his nation in 125 Test matches, amassing 10,122 runs. He has broken ground-breaking Test milestones and registered a number of records in his name.

As Gavaskar celebrates his birthday, the cricfiles.com website reviews five noteworthy records from his illustrious Test career.

The first player completes 10,000 runs in tests

Sunil Gavaskar made history on March 7, 1987, when he became the first Test cricket player to surpass 10,000 runs. He accomplished this while playing Pakistan in a game in Ahmedabad. That was his last set of Test matches. In terms of total Test runs, he currently holds the third-place spot among Indian players, just behind Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Most century in a Test

He had for a long time held the record for the most centuries in Test matches before Sachin Tendulkar passed him in 2005. Gavaskar beat out Australian legend Don Bradman to set the record with his 30th Test tonne. At the conclusion of his Test career, he had 34 centuries.

774 runs in the opening series

With a legendary performance during the series against the West Indies, Sunil Gavaskar announced his entry into Test cricket. In eight innings, he scored 774 runs overall, including four centuries and one double-century. It is the most runs an Indian batter has ever scored in a Test series, and it ranks 12th overall.

First bat-carrying Indian Test cricketer

Gavaskar became the first Indian player to go unbeaten for the entirety of a Test innings in 1987 in Faisalabad against Pakistan thanks to a score of 107′. Since then, this feat has also been accomplished by Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Most hundreds vs. West Indies

In the 1970s and 1980s, West Indies had a talented lineup. They remained Gavaskar’s favourite team when it came to scoring runs despite having a potent bowling attack. He scored 13 centuries in the 27 Test matches he played against them. On the list of “Most centuries against one team in Test cricket,” only Sir Don Bradman is ahead of him.