Sunil Gavaskar was only the second batsman to score a hundred and double hundred in a Test?
(7 May 2002)

The final Test of the 1971 India-West Indies series at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, was an all-important one for the two sides. India, 1-0 up, needed only a draw to seal an epochal series win. The West Indies, under the leadership of the great Sir Garfield Sobers, though , were determined to thwart the Indians. Fortunately for the tourists, the 21-year-old Sunil Gavaskar, who had already played many a stirring knock in the series, decided to excel himself at a venue that was soon to hold a special place in the hearts of Indian fans.

Battling a severe toothache after India won the toss and elected to bat, the little master made 124 to guide India to a fighting total of 360. Hundreds from Charles Davis and Sobers, though, saw the West Indies gain a healthy 166-run first-innings lead.

The pressure was now firmly on the Indians in the second innings. With more than two days left to play, they needed to set the West Indies a significant target to save the game. Gavaskar’s tooth was troubling him severely at this stage. Orders from manager Keki Tarapore meant that he could not even have pain-killing injections; Tarapore reasoning that they would only make him feel more drowsy.

The pain proved a blessing in disguise for the little master. He found that it made him concentrate harder. Batting with a tenacity and single-mindedness that were to make him one of the all-time greats in the coming years, Gavaskar ground out a famous double-hundred, making 220 in an Indian second-innings total of 427. He also became only the second batsman, after Australian Doug Walters, to score a hundred and a double hundred in a Test. Walters achieved the feat against the West Indies in February 1969.

The Indians had saved the match by then. With 262 needed from 40 overs, the West Indies could only hope for a draw. But they came frighteningly close to another defeat, eventually making 165 for eight in their second essay before play was called off.