The Night when Gavaskar turned a Test Match into a One Dayer!

I still remember it. It was night and over 10 pm in Delhi. India needed 438 to win. Sunil Gavaskar was on crease almost the entire day. He scored 221 – the highest by an Indian at that time. I still remember that match – we were all on the edge of our seats. Sushil Doshi, the Hindi commentator advised the heart patients to switch off the radio. Radio Commentary was all we got at that time. And until then, the One Day fever had not arrived in India – it was still 4 years away! In the end, Gavaskar got out and India could not win – missed it by 9 runs. The match was a draw but it was one of those rare occassions when a team had chased a total of over 400 and come perilously close to winning in the history of Test Cricket! Here is a youtube clip of that remarkable innings.

[Updated: YouTube clip no longer available.]