On This Day: Sunil Gavaskar scored 36 off 174 balls vs England in 1975 World Cup

For all of Sunil Gavaskar’s achievements and records with the bat, there is one match, one innings that will forever remain a big question mark. We go back to 1975, as India took on England in the first-ever ODI World Cup. Batting first, England raced along, never looked back and powered by Dennis Amiss, they scored 334 runs for 4 wickets. Amiss was given great support by Keith Fletcher (68) and Chris Old (51*). India, in response, could never find any momentum and Gavaskar played one of the most bizarre innings in limited overs cricket. No one could quite comprehend what the Indian batter was trying to do as he kept blocking and leaving deliveries. As India limped to 132 for 3 off 60 overs, Gavaskar remained unbeaten on 36 off 174 deliveries and his innings had just the one boundary. The spectators present were shocked with what was happening out in the field and they even jeered the opener. However, nothing seemed to impact Gavaskar as he just did not budge from his approach. Speaking after the match, Gulabrai Ramchand, who was a former India captain and manager of the side during that World Cup confessed that the approach shown by Gavaskar was never discussed in the meeting. He was, however, quick to add that the opener would neither be reprimanded nor be held accountable for the questionable performance. Srinivas Venkataraghavan, however, was more outspoken and in an interview several years down the line said that the approach left a very bad taste in everyone’s mouth and that Gavaskar had let the team, the spectators and the spirit of the game down. Speaking about the match in his book, Sunny Days, Gavaskar said: “There were occasions I felt like moving away from the stumps so I would be bowled. This was the only way to get away from the mental agony from which I was suffering. I couldn’t force the pace and I couldn’t get out. Towards the end I was playing mechanically.” Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook****,  Twitter and  Instagram****.