Nov 17, 2015 Part one:: Graham Gooch on the toughest competitors: Sunil Gavaskar's ability to concentrate for long periods helped shape all aspects of his batting
Producer: Tanveer Gogada
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Jan 29, 2016 Part 11: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Malcolm Marshall was the most intelligent quick bowler ever
Jan 26, 2016 Part ten: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Dennis Lillee had tremendous stamina and the ability to adapt to any condition
Jan 19, 2016 Part nine: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Shane Warne bowled the best flipper, and he always tried to psyche out batsme...
Jan 12, 2016 Part eight: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Wasim Akram was effective both over and round the wicket and was very diffic...
Jan 5, 2016 Part seven: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Alan Knott stood out for his glovework and footwork, and he was an iconic pl...
Dec 22, 2015 Part six: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Martin Crowe's ability to transfer his weight at the crease made him a difficu...
Dec 12, 2015 Part 4: Graham Gooch on Sachin Tendulkar, who bore the crushing weight of expectation masterfully for over two decades
Dec 12, 2015 Part five: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Allan Border was not eye-catching but he was uncompromising and focused on wi...
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The greatest opening test batsman of all-time.
Considering test cricket only without first call or one day cricket Gavaskar could well place 2nd to the Don,if you asses that he never wore protective headgear and the records he set.In the all-time world xi however a combination of Barry Richards and Jack Hobbs may be marginally more effective and arguably win more games as it combines ability to dominate bowling with high technical skill.
Overall Gavaskar would make the top 12 batsmen of all time below Bradman,Hobbs,Tendulkar,Viv Richards,Lara,Sobers and Hammond and just about on par with Hutton.Overall Sunny may just edge Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid.
Technically Gavaskar was just a shade below Len Hutton and on par with Hanif Mohammad .What set Gavaskar apart was his concentration and often he looked like meditating when batting.In his day Barry Richards was technically ahead by the margin of a nose but may still not have emulated Sunil if he had a full test career.Overall I would place Gavaskar on par with Hutton at joint 2nd place behind Jack Hobbs.What set Hobs apar was his mastery on wet pitches and ability to win games from the most difficult. situations.Sehwag and Barry Richards would be greater match-winners but would not surpass Gavaskar or Hutton in building innings.Even Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara did not face the calibre of pace bowling Gavaskar did if you consider that they could wear protective headgear and played in an era when there was a restriction on bumpers.Gavaskar,significantly has a better record in 4th innings than Tendulkar.Overall for the final 11 of all time Gavaskar may just be nosed out.
Sunil Gavaskar was like an architect ,soldier and monk rolled into one .He possesed the technical skill s of a surgeon,the courage of a soldier and the concentration of a Buddhist monk.No opening batsmen ever was so prolific against a battery of such great fast bowlers as Gavaskar.Viv Richards may have been more talented but Sunil had to bear the brunt of his team's batting considerably more.Imagine facing the likes of Roberts ,Holding,Imran and Marshall without protective headgear and setting batting records.True Gavaskar wa s a slow scorer but he was often the architect of a famous win like at Port of Spain in 1976 or against Pakistan at Madras in 1979-80.His 221 at the Oval in 1979 and 96 against Pakistan at Bangalore in 1987 rank amongst the top dozen test match innings of all time.At the Oval he did not make a single mistake while at Bangalore he championed the cause on a broken wicket like a surgeon operating on a patient considered incurable.
he was the best ever batsman India has ever produced until 2015. and he was best by miles.
no one can come close enough to his 13 test centuries he scored against the best ever pace attack of WI in 70s and 80s, cricket had ever witnessed. he would treat likes of greatest fast bowlers all around the world on all sorts of wkts, with same ease, finesse and charisma as he is batting on a batting-friendly track.
to me 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions for indian batsmen are all reserved by Sunny. rest does not matters if they are not on victory stand.... the best after him was Dravid if you necessarily had to choose one.