Fast bowling has rarely been associated with Indian pitches over the years. In India, pitches have traditionally favoured spinners, but there was one surface in particular that was a fast bowler’s dream. One that the legendary Sunil Gavaskar has described as the most difficult pitch he has ever batted on in India.
With all those runs – over 10,000 in Tests – Gavaskar had batted all over the world, including on some of the world’s most lightning-quick and bouncy decks – Brisbane, Jamaica, Perth – and many more. But none compares to the one Gavaskar batted on against the West Indies in Chennai during a Test match.
“The hardest pitch that I have played on was in Chennai in 1978 against the West Indies. It was the fastest pitch that I played on. I’ve played at Sabina Park on a couple of occasions where the ball was flying. I’ve played at Perth. I’ve played at the Gabba where the ball was travelling,” Gavaskar said on The Cricket Analyst podcast.
“I’ve played on a wet pitch in Sydney when Jeff Thomson was letting it all hang out. But there was that pitch with Sylvester Clarke in Chennai. The ball was simply bouncing around. That was probably the most difficult pitch I’ve ever faced.”
Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Ian Botham, and Richard Hadlee were four of the best all-rounders in the world at the time Gavaskar was playing. Gavaskar, on the other hand, chose none of them as the best all-rounder he had ever seen. The honour was bestowed by the former India captain on the legendary West Indian Garfield Sobers.
“The greatest all-rounder that I saw was Sir Garfield Sobers because he was quite simply somebody who could change the game with the bat, he could change the game with the ball. He could change the game by taking an incredible catch close in or even in the outfield. But the impact that he had and the number of matches he turned with both bat and ball is the reason why he was the greatest all-rounder that I have seen.”
