Sunil Gavaskar Quiz: Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, born on 10 July 1949, is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer representing India and Bombay from the early 1970s to the late 1980s.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen and one of the best opening batsmen in Test cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any batsman.
He held the record of 34 Test centuries for almost two decades before it was broken by Sachin Tendulkar in December 2005. He was the first person to score centuries in both innings of a Test match three times. He was the first Test batsman to score 10,000 Test runs in a career and now stands at number 12 on the group of 13 players with 10,000-plus Test runs.
Gavaskar was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, with a particularly high average of 65.45 against the West Indies team, who possessed a four-pronged fast bowling attack regarded as the most vicious in Test history. However, most of Gavaskar’s centuries against West Indies were against their second string team when their four-pronged attack were not playing.
His captaincy of the Indian team, however, was less successful. Turbulent performances of the team led to multiple exchanges of captaincy between Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, with one of Gavaskar’s sackings coming just six months before Kapil led India to victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He is also a former Sheriff of Mumbai.
Gavaskar is a recipient of the Indian civilian honours of the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.
In 2012, he was awarded the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for Cricket in India.
Sunil Gavaskar scored first of his 34 Test hundreds on 21st March 1971 in the tour of West Indies. Not only that announced the arrival of the great batsman but he also went on to make and break many records in that tour. Here is a quiz on how well you know the events surrounding the tour and the exploits of Sunil Gavaskar.
Some other Quiz Suggestion: How well do you know MSD?
Gavaskar is the only cricketer to score four consecutive Test centuries at two different venues. One is Port of Spain, which is the other venue?
The Littler Master finished his career with 34 Test centuries and held the record for the most number of centuries until Sachin Tendulkar surpassed him in 2004.
In 1971, a fast bowler created headlines by pushing Gavaskar to the ground during a Test match. Who was that bowler?
Though Snow denied allegations of a deliberate barge, the incident happened at Lord's while Gavaskar was attempting a single. It shocked everyone, including the England team-management who dropped Snow for the next Test.
Against which team did Gavaskar score his solitary ODI century?
The milestone was completed by Gavaskar in the penultimate match of his ODI career at Nagpur in 1987.
Which act from Gavaskar during the 1981-82 Ranji Trophy semifinal created a room for debate among cricket pundits?
The move was made by Gavaskar to counter the massive threat of left-arm spinner Raghuram Bhat who had picked up eight wickets in the first innings for Karnataka. Gavaskar not only batted left-handed but also came to bat number seven.
Who is Gavaskar's only victim in Test cricket?
Gavaskar has a solitary wicket in Tests and ODIs respectively.
Which of the following statements is not true with respect to Sunil Gavaskar?
Vijay Hazare is the first Indian to score a hundred in both innings of a Test match. However, Gavaskar is the joint-record holder of smashing consecutive tons on three separate occasions.
At which ground did Sunil Gavaskar break Sir Don Bradman's record for most Test centuries?
Gavaskar registered his career-best score of 236 in this game, an Indian record at that time.
Which is the only country where Gavaskar didn't have a Test century?
Gavaskar has two fifties from six innings in the country but no three-figure scores. Not surprisingly, Sri Lanka is also the only country where he doesn't average 40 in Tests
In which city is "Gavaskar Place" -- a street named after Sunil Gavaskar located?
"Gavaskar Place" and "Kapil Grove" - the two streets which are 50 meters apart are named after the Indian legends in the capital city of New Zealand.
During the Old Trafford Test of 1974, what bizzare request did Gavaskar make to on-field umpire Dickie Bird?
Gavaskar cited that his vision was being blocked because of his lengthy hair. As a result of which he made a request to cut his hair.