An innings of Sunny Gavaskar deeply etched in my memory is his 121 against West Indies at Kotla. In the previous test match at Green Park, Kanpur, Sunny was cheaply dismissed by Malcolm Marshall (at his fearsome best those days) in both the innings. The second dismissal a particularly ignominious one, where the bat flew out of his hand to land somewhere near forward short leg position awkwardly defending a Marshall bouncer. India lost that test by an innings. Soon the action shifted to Ferozshah Kotla and India were put into bat on a late October chilly morning with a fair amount of dew on the grass. Marshall and "whispering death" Michael Holding supported by Wayne Daniel and Winston Davis made up the formidable pace quartet of the West Indies. But what a counter assault Sunny launched on all four scoring a century, almost a run a ball and getting there just after the stroke of lunch. Sunny was finally out for 121 made from 128 balls. With that blistering counter attacking hundred, Sunny had reasserted his supremacy and his class in the most telling way.
I am a fan of Harsha Bhogle. His writing skills and passion and knowledge of the game are second to none. Of course Sunny Gavaskar is a legend. Well said Harsha Bhogle!
