Thread:
Born 12 Feb 1949
Gundappa Viswanath remains one of the most loved of Indian cricketers.
#cricket #onthisday

Be it the heady concoction of bewitchment & finesse in his stroke-play, or the simple amiability of his personality, or even increasing veneer of vulnerability & frequency of failures as he aged, he was the darling of the crowds during his playing days & has remained so.

His career overlapped almost in its entirety with the other little great man of Indian batting —Sunil Gavaskar. They remained the closest of friends, even connected in the family tree with Viswanath marrying the sister of Gavaskar.

Many an Indian innings was built on the foundation of these two maestros. And for many, including some serious writers of the game, Gavaskar remained true to his batting position — the head of the Indian team, while Viswanath became the heart that throbbed in the middle.

Viswanath’s artistry delighted the common man, whereas Gavaskar’s copybook approach held joy more for the connoisseurs of technique. And the former was known, partly correctly, partly due to romantic retelling, to be heroic in the face of disaster.

How great a batsman was Viswanath?
He was an artist at the crease. But beauty of batsmanship has never won a Test match or saved one.

Let us attempt to understand how Viswanath’s career panned out down the years. After all there will be plenty of unrestrained hagiography today, we need not add to that here.

His stint at the wicket can be divided into four more or less distinct phases. The first period of establishing himself in the side saw his average fluctuate in the 30s before the superb series against West Indies in 1974-75.

After that, for the next few seasons, he remained a brilliant batsman prone to sudden lapses of form. Sometimes the troughs could be inexplicable, as in the home series against England in 1976-77.

From the Aus tour of 1977, Viswanath hit a purple patch and during a 2-year period was one of the finest batsmen of the world. However, as witnessed from the series against Pak in 1979-80, he was no longer the commanding batsman he once was. The sparks of brilliance became rarer.

During the purple patch betn Dec 1977 and Nov 1979, Viswanath was the 2nd highest scorer in the world after Gavaskar. This was obviously helped by enormous number of matches India played during this period and the absence of strong bowling line ups because of the Packer interlude

During that phase he was fourth in the world in terms of averages. The greatest batsmen were also absent, as were the greatest bowlers, all engaged in the Packer circus. Among those who played, Viswanath was indeed at the top.

And thereafter it is undeniable that he tapered off in a prolonged and less than glorious final phase of his career, when he battled with fitness, form and fancy for beer.

According to his own confession, Viswanath seldom focused on consistency. Hence, rather than eschewing risks, he sought creative expression of his talents.

Batting to him was a much more fulfilling matter than the mundane business of run making. Hence, he did not manage to find a place in the same category as the run machines of the era — people such as Gavaskar, Viv Richards, Greg Chappell and Geoff Boycott.

It is a testimony to his immense talent that he still managed to be a world-class performer for much of his career — in spite of his rather mercurial approach.

When lined up against the greatest batsmen of India, his name is spoken in revered tones, often in throes of dreamy nostalgia. He seldom makes it into All Time Ind XIs, but the consensus is that there'll seldom be another batsman of his kind
GR Viswanath was born on 12 Feb 1949.