On This Day In 1973: When Sunil Gavaskar Opened The Bowling Against England

On This Day In 1973 Cricket: Sunil Gavaskar remains renowned for his impregnable defensive technique and classical shot-playing abilities against the world’s most intimidating fast bowlers. Without ever wearing a helmet, the short-statured Mumbaikar took on the world’s finest bowling attacks on challenging surfaces and became the first player ever to record 10,000 runs in Test history.

Standing ever so resolute and defiant at the crease, Gavaskar compiled a mammoth 10,122 runs in his 125 Test appearances at an average of 51.12 with 34 hundreds.

He inspired his teammates to fight the odds and laid a foundation for a generation of India’s finest ever batters that followed, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

Gavaskar’s incredible

feats and records with the bat in the Indian jersey are all etched in the record books. But do you know, the legendary cricketer once shocked everyone by turning up as a new-ball bowler as well.

Yes, Gavaskar’s remarkable career featured a unique outing during the 1973 Chennai Test against England, where he opened the bowling for Ajit Wadekar & co.

When Sunil Gavaskar Opened The Bowling Attack

Back in the pre-Kapil Dev era, the Indian new-ball bowling plans mainly centred around the idea of how quickly they could get the ball to roughen up for the great spin quartet of Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrashekar and Venkataraghavan.

Relying heavily on their spinners on a dry and turning pitch, the Indian side picked no premier seamer in the attack.

Captain Wadekar, however, surprised the Chepauk crowd by handing 23-year-old Gavaskar the ball for the first over after losing the toss and being asked to bowl.

Gavaskar ran up to bowl his mix of right-arm medium and off-breaks at the English opening pair of Barry Wood and Dennis Amiss. He gave six runs in his first and only over of the innings, as Wadekar quickly ended the experiment and brought in the trio of Bedi, Prasanna and Chandrashekhar to do the damage.

Chandrashekhar dominated the proceedings, taking 6 for 90, to help dismiss the visitors for 242. In response, India piled on 316 all out, with former skipper Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi playing a heroic and impactful knock of 73.

In the third innings, Bedi (4/38) and Prasanna (4/16) rose to the occasion and skittled out the opposition for 159, setting up a chase of 86. Wadekar & co suffered multiple blows as the pitch started to play more tricks by the fourth innings, but they eventually reached the victory line with four wickets remaining.

Sunil Gavaskar’s Performance In The Match

For Gavaskar, it was a forgetful outing with the bat. He fell for 20 in the first innings and was demoted to No.8 in the second due to an injury, remaining not out without opening his account.

But the 76-year-old, who is known for his joyful and humorous streak in the commentary box these days, may still cheekily recall the Test as a rare instance where he emerged as a new-ball bowler for India.