Gavaskar averages a whopping 99.12 at Port of Spain?
(26 April 2002)

There is no doubt that the Caribbean was one of Sunil Gavaskar's preferred touring destinations. Ever since he hit 774 runs in his debut series as a lad just over 20, he piled on the runs thickly in the West Indies. Calypso melodies were composed in his honour, and even on his recent trip there as a commentator, he was "detained" at the Port of Spain airport so that he could sign autographs for the security personnel.

And for good reason. If Gavaskar had to pick a favourite ground, the Queen's Park Oval at Port of Spain would be it. In five Test matches and nine innings there, the Little Master racked up a mind-boggling 793 runs, at an average that gives the Don's career stat a run for its money - 99.12.

The 793 runs came in the form of four hundreds and two fifties. One of those centuries was his 220 in his debut series in 1970-71, and it was all the more remarkable because it came after Gavaskar had hit 124 in the first innings. Two more centuries flowed from his blade during the 1975-76 series, one of them helping India chase down a record 403 in the fourth innings.

Gavaskar made only 33 runs in his last Test at Port of Spain, touring there in 1982-83; that match was more Mohinder Amarnath's. But when India beat the West Indies just months later in the final of the 1983 World Cup, Sunny had taken part in India's most famous Test and one-day triumphs over their Caribbean rivals.