#OTD in 1975: Sunil Gavaskar remained unbeaten on 36 off 174 balls in a chase of 335 vs ENG

On this day, the legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar played a bizarre knock of 36* off 174 balls at Lord’s in the first-ever fixture in World Cup cricket history. It was a chase of 335 against England in 60 overs, and India lost by 202 runs.

The Three Lions opted to bat first on a sunny morning, with John Jameson and Dennis Amiss providing a good start and scoring odd boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking at a fine rate. 

Mohinder Amarnath broke the 54-run stand by dismissing Jameson for 21 off 42, Keith Fletcher arrived at number three and held his composure to build a hefty partnership with Amiss. 

Amiss was at his best that day as he stifled the Indian bowlers with a scintillating hundred. The highlight of his innings was his three successive fours off Mohinder Amarnath in the same over, which displayed his talent and sweet timing capabilities. 

Amiss’ 137, Fletcher’s half-century and a late lower order contribution helped the English team post a score of 334 on the board. 

In reply, India lost Eknath Solkar for 8 off 34 balls. But then Anshuman Gaekwad (22) and Gundappa Viswanath (37) were the partners of Gavaskar, who played at his own pace and didn’t bother to chase down the target, and delivered one of the slowest knocks in the ODI cricket history. 

At the end of the 60 overs, India were at 132/3 and lost by 202 runs. Gavaskar was at 36* off 174 balls, with a solitary boundary, at a strike rate of 20.68. On the other end, Brijesh Patel remained unbeaten on 16 off 57 balls. 

Frustrated by the innings, one of the Indian crowd ran to the middle of the pitch to remonstrate with Gavaskar.

A few years back, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, the then Indian team captain had opined about Gavaskar’s innings. 

He said, “It left a very, very bad taste. He let the team down, the spectators down, and the spirit of the game down. I don’t know what happened to him.”

Gavaskar had also shared his thoughts and said, “There were occasions I felt like moving away from the stumps so I would be bowled. This was the only way to get away from the mental agony from which I was suffering. I couldn’t force the pace, and I couldn’t get out. Towards the end, I was playing mechanically.”

The Indian team could win only one of the three league fixtures and could not progress to the next stage. On the other hand, England lost to Australia in the semi-finals.