Right from scoring 137 on debut, Vishwanath always performed when others failed. He raised his degree of batting excellence on pitches others found a nightmare.
But if there is one innings that defined his genius and temperament , it was his 97 not out against the rampaging West Indies at Madras in 1975. West Indies arrived at Madras with a 2-1 lead in the five-match Test series .
India won the toss and opt to bat first. Andy Roberts’s hostile spell of fast bowling blew the Indians apart to India 55/6. At this point even the most optimistic of Indian supporters to believe that India would lose the Test and the series.
But West Indies had to deal with one man who was short in height but steel in stature Gundappa Vishwanath. He single-handedly took control of the situation and guide the Indian tail to show why he would be acknowledged as the India’s greatest batsman ever. From 91 for 7 Vishy helped India score to 191. He missed his well deserved hundred by three runs .The last four wickets added 114 runs .Viswanath’s contribution being a whopping 80.
Viswanath had scored 51.05% of India’s runs and single-handedly defied the fire and fury of Roberts who finished the innings with seven wickets for 64 runs. It was a brilliant performance by Gundappa which helped Indian fight back to level the series.
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