Born on July 10, 1949, in Mumbai, Sunil Gavaskar was small in stature, but his reputation in the cricket world was immense. On the cricket field, he was fearless and undaunted. In 1981, a Test match between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw a decision by Sunil Gavaskar that shook the cricket world.
Team India had lost the first match of the series, played in Sydney. After that, India managed to draw the second match. Team India now had only one option to draw the three-match series: to win the third Test at all costs. Throughout this series, poor umpiring posed challenges for India.
In the first innings of the third Test in Melbourne, the Indian team was bowled out for just 237 runs. In reply, Australia scored 419 runs. Based on the first innings, Team India was 182 runs behind, but in the second innings, India’s opening pair raised hopes. Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan had added 165 runs for the first wicket. Gavaskar had scored 70 runs. Meanwhile, a ball from Dennis Lillee hit Gavaskar’s pads, and umpire Rex Whitfield gave him out lbw.
Gavaskar looked unhappy and tried to explain to the umpire. Moments later, Gavaskar was heading towards the pavilion, but in the meantime, he also told Chetan Chauhan, who was at the other end, to return. At Gavaskar’s behest, Chetan Chauhan hesitantly started to return to the pavilion, but India’s group manager, S.A.K. Durrani, prevented Chauhan from leaving the field in time.
India scored 324 runs in this innings, and Kapil Dev took five wickets, dismissing the home team for just 83 runs in the next innings. Team India won the match by 59 runs and the series ended in a 1-1 draw. However, many years later, Gavaskar revealed that he wasn’t angry with the umpire’s decision, though he was disappointed. He explained that as he was returning to the dressing room, an Australian player used abusive language towards him, which angered him, causing him to tell Chetan Chauhan to return.
Sunil Gavaskar played 125 Tests for India, scoring 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12. During this time, he scored four double centuries, 34 centuries, and 45 half-centuries. In 108 One Day Internationals, Sunil Gavaskar scored 3,092 runs at an average of 35.14.
