Xtra Time Web Desk: March 6,1971 will always bear a special significance in Indian cricket as on this day a 5’5” cricketer walked into bat for the first time in international cricket for India. Exactly 50 years back on that famous 1971 series, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar went on to amass 774 runs against a mighty West Indies side, heralding a mindset change in Indian cricket & earning him unbridled adulation. His scores of 65, 67*, 116, 64, 1,117*, 124 & 220 has been part of folklore. For anyone who has followed cricket around the world, those numbers are staggering. No batsman had ever scored 774 runs in his first test series and, 50 years on, the record stays intact.
Exactly 50 years after that famous debut at Port of Spain in Trinidad, the legendary cricketer made a debut on social media handle instagram. Sunil Gavaskar’s son Rohan tweeted about his father making a debut on Instagram and he captioned the post as: “Another debut !! This time on Instagram.”
In his first post on Instagram, Gavaskar shared an old photo and he captioned the post as: “Hello Instagram. I think I am ready for another debut.”
Undaunted by West Indies playing on their home ground with stars such as Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Roy Fredericks, Vanburn Holder and several others, Gavaskar’s feat made it possible for India to register their first series win against the hosts.
Gavaskar’s feat signalled a change in mindset for Indian cricketers. The belief that his achievement gave the team showed up in the sport and how India battled with the opposition, often in the lion’s den.
It was perfectly fitting for the BCCI to felicitate the Little Master for his contribution to Indian cricket as BCCI secretary Jay Shah honoured the batting great during the lunch break on day three of the ongoing fourth Test between India and England.