Gundappa Vishwanath-a genius or all-time great?

[Harsh Thakor]

Gundappa Vishwanath-a genius or all-time great? In1968 in Hyderabad a young slim boy named Gundappa Vishwanath marched to the nets,facing every delivery.As a result of rainfall the wicket was damp and the condition of the nets deteriorated.The dimunitive youngster handled the rising ball with great precison playing the ball rising up to his chin down to the ground firmly.Test stars like M.K.Pataudi and M.L.Jaisimha watched him and were deeply impressed with the youngster.It was that very prowess which he displayed in the nets that marked the trend of this illustrious cricketer. Earlier he had ascored asuperb 230 in the Ranji TRophy on is debut .Vishwanath went on to play for the State Bank of India team and the Sout Zone side for whom he compiled an immaculate 68 in 1969. It was against Bill Lawry's Autsralain team that he made his debut .He failed in the first innings but made a cracking 137 i the 2nd innings,including 25 boundaries.His writwork was exempelaty agaisnt acompetent attack and the little genius proved his true metal.He went on to register 2 more 50s on difficult tracks. He hardly made an impression on India's victorious 1970-71 tour of WEst Indies after suffering from ahwisted knee and playing in only the rhird test His replacement Dilip Sardesai played brilinatly and stole the limelight with Gavaskar. On the tour of England in 1971 Vishwanath's 33 played an instrumental role in India winning it's forts ever tset and series on English soil when he compiled 33 run sin the Oval test in the 2nd innings.India were chasing 180 runs and struggling but Vishy batted in his charasterictic style on a turning pitch beautifull adapting his footwork to the conditions and rolling his wrists to find the gap.Just 4 runs before acheiving the victory target of 180 runs the little master was run out. On the 1972-73 English tour of India Vishy was at his best at Kanpur scoring an unbeaten 75 and at Bombay where he scored a century.On the return tour of England he adapted brilliantly to the seaming conditins On a green top at Manchester he gave asuperb exhibition of playing against the moving ball.His charasterictic wristwork and foot movements were aperfect example for a budding youngster. In the 1974-75 series at home agaisnt the West Indies led by Clive Lloyd Vishy showed the Cricket world why he should now be considered atruly great player and not just avery good one.He compiled 568 runs at 56.8 agaisnt a hostile attack and gave a supeme exhibtion of his artistry at Calcutta and Madras after India were 2-0 down .His 139 at Calcutta was a classic when he retrieved India who looked heading for an imminent defeat when he aded a crucial partnership with Karsan Ghavri which won the match.In the following test at Madras Vishy scored what was amongst the half - dozen best knocks in test cricket.From 91-7 he steered India to 191 ,scoring 97 not out.Watching him bat was more like seeing a musical composer or a poet such was the level of his artistry.Vishy was literally like an emperor dictating his knights that day and the rest of the field looked like mere pawns.The ball would speed like a bullet to the boundary but with the grace of a violinist strutting his wand.Vishy composed some strokes from his own book and his square-cutting of Andy Roberts was majestic.He pierced through all the impregnable gaps.He even pierced the legside gaps through square leg and mid-wicket and smote the over-pitched delivery through the covers.THe bowling attack looked like a airbase bombarded.Now the motivation was given to India's spinners who bolwled India to avictory and level the series at 2 all.In the final test he scored 95 but could not prevent WEst Indies from triumhing and clinching the serise 3-2. On the 1976 tour of New Zealand Vishy demonstrated his prowess on bad wickets.At Christchuch he batted with the precison of a surgeon peforming an operation and .scoring 83 and 79.The ball was moving all over the place and Vishy gave a superb exhibtion of batting.He left the good length balls showing remarkable judgement and drove the well -pitched balls.Against the shorter balls he executed the cut shot with remarkable precision. Many good batsman wuld have been unable to laeve those deliveries which Vishy shouldered arms to. On the 1975-76 tour of WEst Indies Vishy's 112 played amajor part in India scoring the record 4th innings total to win atest match in Rtinidad in the 3rd test.His 2 square cut's of Michael Holding after the new ball was taken will never be forgotten .Of rising deliveries Vishy stood on his toes and guided the balls to the point boundary.His handling of the new ball was exempalary.Sadly India went down in the final test at Kingston when WEst Indies resorted to body-line bolwing and the game was hardly played as asport.Vishy was injured on his middle finger fending at ashort ball.It was raelly sad for the game that the series was decided in WEst Indies favour in that fashion. Down Under in 1977-78 Vishy was the bset batsman averaging over 525 and aggregating 473 runs.He handled Jeff Thomson with great skill on fast wickets .Like at Madras earlier he showed his skill on bouncy surfaces with his superb wristwork.His batting played a great role in India coming back to win 2 test matches after being 2-0 down.Finaly India lost after ahard fougt battle in the final tset by a 3-2 margin. In Pakisatn in 1978 his 145 at Faislabad was Indi's then highest score agaisnt Pakistan.However he batted irresponsibly in other innings apart from an 83 throwing his wuicket away which played a crucial role in Pakistan;s triumphs in Lahore and Karachi. In 1978=79 against West Indies it was Vishy's 124 out of an overall score of 255 that clinched the series in India's favour at Madras.On awicket faster than Perth Vishy demolished Sylvester Clarke after Gavaskar and Vengasarkar were bowled for no score.It was a revelation the way he deployed his wrists agaisnt the boucing ball and pierced the gaps.He looked like a soldier fighting a war on alien territory .He alos scored 179 at Kanpur.His 40 i the 2nd inings played amajor part in India chasing amoderate target of 126. In England in 1979 he was ever consistent.I the first tset at Edgbaston he scored 78 and 50 ,but India lost by an innings.In the 2nd tset when India seemed doomed for defeat trainling by 323 run she shared arecord 3rd wicket partnership with Dilip Vengsrakar scoring 112.He scored 62 in the final test in the first inings but in the 2nd inings was given out of a bump ball when he seemed to set to guide India to victory chasing a record 4th inings target to win a test match.(He was not sent in his usual 2 down position ahd Kapil Dev was sent instead.To me that cost India af amous victory)There would not have been a more fitting finale seeing Vishy execute the victory after his brother in law,Sunil Gavaskar had compiled aclasssic 221.Before the test series in the Prudential World Cup he scored a brilliant 75 at Edbaston against the champion 4 pronged West Indian pace attack.He literally took the attack by the sword and the bowlers stated that no batsman tackled them as effectively for a long period. He was brilliant against Australia in a subsequent home series averging 73 with 2 centuries including 161 not out at Bombay and India triumphed 2-0.It was agisnt a second string Aussie team.Though subsequently India historically triumphed against Pakistan ,subsequentlyVishy hardly made an impact which was very strange. In the 1979-80 jubilee tset although England won and Ian Botham gave the greatset all round performance ever it is Vishwanath's act that I will remember forever.England were in a precarious position at 85-5 when Taylor was given out.Vishy saw that the ball was caught after touching the ground and called Taylor back.Batting with Botham Taylor added a match-winning partnership of 171 runs.Vishys ' act lost the game for India but was a triumph for the spirit of the game . On the 1980-81 tour of Australia and New Zealand he was not consistent but his hundred at Melbourne was instrumental in India registering avictory from an impossible position after giving a target of 143 runs.He brilliantly drove and cut Lillee and Pascoe and rescued a sinking shipscoring 114 out of 237 on a tricky wicket and one late cut of aLillee yorker will be always remembered..It was Vishy's knock that set the base for India drawing aseries in Australia for the first time.He literally pulled of a Houdini act On the 1981-82 home series against England after looking out of touch in the first 2 test he came back superby in Dehi in the 3rd test scoring 107.He displayed great artistry like making curves on a board and saved India.At Madras on a quick pitch in the 5th test he scored a masterly 222 showing great restraint and technical prowess.He looked like an impregnable wall He averaged over 58 in the series.overall. In 1982 in England after failing in the first test Vishy again displayed his skill in playing in seaming conditions.He scored 3 consecutive 50's which went along way in India saving the 2nd and 3rd tests after being placed in a precarious position.He beautifully handled Botham and Willis scoring 54 at OLd Trafford after India were 25-3 facing ascore of 425 and scoring 56 and 75 not ot at the Oval enabling India to avoid the follow on after facing a score of 594. Sadly he failed on the 1982-83 tour of Pakistan and was dropped.He was later never even considered for selection.It was sad way for such agreat player to retire-the equivalent of seeing a Juliues Caesar dethroned. Could Vishwanath join the pantheon of all-time greats? Vishwanath scored 6080 run sin 91 tests in 151 innings at an average of 41.93.However figures don't do him true justice and at his best his batting was comparable to the greats like Viv and Bary Richards.Sunil Gavaskar or the Chappell brothers.It is significant that 3 of Vishy's innings were chosen in the Wisden all-time best 100 list,where even a Tendulkar innings does not figure.Vishy's 97 n.o.at Madras and 124 on the same venue,both against West Indies are 2 of the finest displays of batting ever seen. It was sad that he turned down the offer to play in Packer Cricket and be tested against the greatest cricketers.Although Sunil Gavaskar was statistically much ahead it was Vishy who was a greater match-winner and a greater entertainer.India never lost a test match when Vishy scored acentury and he averaged 49 runs in tests India won as against Gavaskar's 43.Many a notable victory was won by India when he scored a century.If he had played for atop class team in his era like West Indies,Australia or Pakistan he may well have been an all-time great match-winner.He was a better player of the bouncing ball or on bouncy tracks than Gavaskar.He was prolific against West Indies and Australia averaging 56 runs against them.In full flow he simply turned the complexion of a game.Vishy almost always did well in a crisis and could master bad wickets.It is sad that we hardly saw his prowess in the oneday version of the game where his improvisation would have been a boonfor India.There could few greater sights seeing Gavaskar and Vishwanath batting together-one a master and an architect the other a genius and an artist.A combination of both the batsman would have made the perfect batsman. No Indian batsman ever exhibited such elegance and grace.He also had great technique.It was a sight to watch him drop his wrists and he judged the length of a ball with the precsion of a surgeon.Above all his batting was reminiscent of amusician composing a theme as he had indescribable imagination.He held the bat like a musical wand with his wrists displaying phenomenal flexibilty.No batsman ever executed the square -cut and late-cut with greater skill.Vishy also relished the cover-drive.He also had shots from his own book like his half cut half drive and is shot on the legside that was a combination of a flick,pull and a hook!.In full flow he would take the best of attacks apart like a tiger tearing fesh but with the grace of a pianist tapping his notes.The most impregnable gaps would be dissected like a weaver cutting cloth.In the later part of his career he made technical adjustments like switching his guard fro middle to leg stump .Vishwanath was possibly IndiaÃÔ best ever batsman against sheer pace.For sheer batting prowess I rate Vishwanath the 2nd best batsman of his era ,only below Sir Viv Richards!Sadly his temperament acted against him and he often showed lack of consistency.Often he threw his wicket away by flashing outside the offstump.Overall i think only Rohan Kanhai,Don Bradman ,Ranjitsinghji and Dennis Compton had more creative genius..Perhaps only Zaheer Abas was more elegant.His brother in -law Sunil Gavaskar,arguably the greatest opening batsman ever rates Vishwanath the best batsman of his era, stating"To one delivery I had one stroke ,Vishy had 4 strokes'.In many ways he was like an Indian 'Rohan Kanhai.'In the modern era he may well have averaged above 50. I would have chosen Vishwanath in my all-time India xi ahead of Vijay Hazare ,joining Dravid ,Tendulkar Sehwag and Gavaskar.In the 1970's to me Vihy was the biggest rival to Viv Ricahrds,Gavaskar and the Chappell brothers. Quoting Cricket writer Rajgopal Nidambor in his book 'cricket Boulevard':Since Vishwanath's retirement,there has not been a single player who has come so close,forget about matching him in his God -gifted ,refined,and sustained artistry.His very name conjures up images of pure art of batting at it's best,a canvas that Rembrandt would have painted with relish.Vishy's genius had in it all of nature's bounty -like the slow blossoming of a flower.He have a new dimension to cricketing shots with his own sense of sublime delicacy,economy of movement,and action.A born stylist,Vishy's game was beyond simulation:a derring -do deam ,or hypnotic entity ,far beyond the realms of imitation ,or emulation. Above all he was a very affable character as well as a true gentleman and a great sportsman-something missing so much today in the once Gentleman's game. . Mat T I NO Runs HS1 HS2 HS3 Ave 100 50 0 overall 91 155 10 6080 222 179 161* 41.93 14 35 10 v Australia 18 31 2 1538 161* 137 131 53.03 4 9 1 v England 30 54 4 1880 222 113 113 37.60 4 12 3 v New Zealand 9 17 2 585 103* 87 83 39.00 1 4 2 v Pakistan 15 23 1 611 145 83 73 27.77 1 3 3 v Sri Lanka 1 2 0 11 9 2 - 5.50 0 0 0 v West Indies 18 28 1 1455 179 139 124 53.88 4 7 1 in Australia 8 15 0 686 114 89 79 45.73 1 5 0 in England 13 24 2 858 113 78 75* 39.00 1 9 1 in India 48 81 7 3502 222 179 161* 47.32 10 15 3 in New Zealand 6 11 1 261 83 79 46 26.10 0 2 2 in Pakistan 9 13 0 383 145 83 53 29.46 1 2 3 in West Indies 7 11 0 390 112 62 50 35.45 1 2 1 matches won 20 37 4 1637 139 124 114 49.60 4 8 3 matches drawn 43 63 6 2960 222 179 161* 51.92 10 15 3 matches lost 28 55 0 1483 95 89 83 26.96 0 12 4