He had all the shots in the book, but chose to keep the hook shot in cold storage to minimise risks before bringing it out in all its glory against the most feared pacer – Malcom Marshall - in Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla in the 1982-83 series. A glorious hundred (121 off 94 balls) was the result, the 29th of his career which brought him level with the great Bradman. That innings showed that when in mood Gavaskar could take the attack to the rival camp with gusto. Never considered a one-day player, Gavaskar showed glimpses of his prowess in this format too and chose the World Cup tie against New Zealand at Nagpur in 1987 to showcase his proficiency. Gavaskar's monumental 221 at the Oval Test in the 1979 series against England, brought India back from a hopeless situation to one from where they could smell an unlikely victory.

Gavaskar arrived like a meteor on the 1971 West Indies tour and played a stellar role with “Renaissance Man”, Dilip Sardesai, and another Mumbai teammate Eknath Solkar in helping India, led by another hometown man Ajit Wadekar, to a historic series victory in the Caribbean. The Caribbean, and more specifically Port-of-Spain in Trinidad, became Gavaskar's happy hunting ground as he spearheaded India to a successful world-record chase of over 400 runs in the fourth innings in 1976 at the Queen's Park Oval.

His feats in the West Indies also resulted in a Calypso penned in his praise.

Gavaskar and controversy also went hand in hand. His first visit to England in 1971 saw him collide with the fiery rival fast bowler John Snow on the pitch while taking a run and the Indian opener was sent sprawling as a result. Four years later he crawled his way to an inexplicable 36 not out in 60 overs in the first World Cup, against England, and was reprimanded for it by the Cricket Board following an adverse report by team manager G S Ramchand.

... contd.