On March 7, 1987, Sunil Gavaskar made history by becoming the first batter in Test cricket to surpass 10,000 runs. The milestone came in his 124th Test, played against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. Gavaskar reached the mark with his 58th run in that innings, prompting the crowd to surge onto the field in celebration, a testament to the adoration he commanded throughout his illustrious career.
Gavaskar, famously known as the ‘Little Master,’ was India’s batting mainstay during the 1970s and 1980s. He is renowned for his immaculate defense, extraordinary concentration, and ability to bat for long periods and set new standards for technical mastery in world cricket.
Across a 16-year international career, he represented India in 125 Tests, amassing 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12. His tally included 34 centuries and 45 fifties, four of which were double hundreds, while he also achieved the rare feat of scoring a century in each innings of a Test on three occasions. Gavaskar was the first Indian to score 200 and 100 in the same match.
In One-Day Internationals, Gavaskar scored 3,092 runs from 108 matches at an average of 35.13, proving his versatility across formats in an era when ODIs were still evolving.
The 10,000-run milestone came during his farewell series against Pakistan, in which he also scored 96 in his final Test innings. Though Pakistan won the match, Gavaskar’s achievement left an indelible mark on cricket history. Following his retirement, he held the record for the most Test runs in history. Allan Border later surpassed him, with Brian Lara and eventually Sachin Tendulkar overtaking that tally.
Gavaskar’s arrival on the international stage was spectacular. In his debut series against the West Indies in 1971, he scored 774 runs at an astounding average of 154.8, including four centuries and three half-centuries, announcing himself as a prodigious talent. He was also the first cricketer to cross 9,000 Test runs, held the world record for most Test centuries for a period, and consistently raised the bar for Indian batting.
His career was not only defined by statistics but also by his technical precision and pioneering achievements that inspired generations of cricketers. Gavaskar remains a symbol of batting excellence and the epitome of cricketing artistry
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