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Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath (born 12 February 1949) is a former Indian
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er. Vishwanath was rated as one of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. Viswanath played
Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
for India from 1969 to 1983, making 91 appearances and scoring more than 6,000 runs. He also played in
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
s from 1974 to 1982, including the World Cups of
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. At state level, he played for
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
(formerly Mysore) throughout his career. Viswanath, popularly nicknamed "Vishy", had an elegant and wristy batting style which emphasized timing rather than power. Though he had a complete repertoire of shots around the wicket, Viswanath's choice shot was the square cut, one he often used to great effect against fast bowlers. He regularly fielded at slip. He is the only cricketer to score a double century on debut in a first-class match (against Andhra Pradesh in 1967) and a century on debut in a Test match. In 2008, he received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour Indian board can bestow on a former player.


Career and highlights

On his Test match debut, Viswanath scored a century against
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at
Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...
in 1969 in a drawn match. He also recorded a duck in the same game, one of only four batsmen to have done this in their first match. Viswanath is the first and only player to score a double century on first-class debut as well as a century on Test debut. His best performances tended to come on challenging pitches, and while some of his best innings did not result in centuries, they were still important to the team's success. Against Australia and the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, both known for their strong pace attacks, he had a batting average of over 50. He was at his peak in the mid-1970s. Against the West Indies at
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
in 1974–75 he scored 97 not out out of a total of 190 against a bowling attack containing Andy Roberts. Despite not being a century, it was regarded as one of the finest performances by an Indian and it led to an Indian victory. The Wisden 100 ranked it the 38th best innings of all time, and the second best non-century. He scored a match-winning century in the previous Test at
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
, but despite a 95 in the final Test at
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
the series was lost 3–2. In 1975–76, Viswanath again produced some strong performances against the West Indies, the most notable of which was his 112 at
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which helped India to reach the victory target of 403. At the time, this was the highest successful run-chase in Test cricket. In 1978–79 at Madras he again top scored with 124 out of a total of 255. India went on to win the match which ultimately led to a 1–0 series victory in the 6-match series, although this West Indian side was considerably weaker than in previous series after many players opted to play in World Series Cricket instead.


Captaincy

Viswanath also had a brief stint as the Indian
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in 1979–80. In the two Tests he captained, one was drawn and one was lost, the latter being the Golden Jubilee Test against
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. In this match he recalled Bob Taylor to the crease after the umpire had already given him out. Taylor went on to score some vital runs for England helping them to win the match.


Personal life

In March 1978, Gundappa Viswanath married Kavita, the sister of teammate
Sunil Gavaskar Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ born 10 July 1949), is a former captain of the Indian national cricket team who represented India national cricket team, India and Mumbai crick ...
. They have a son named Daivik and live in
Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
.


Post retirement

Viswanath retired from Tests in 1983, and later served as a
match referee A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Most matches below international level do not ...
for the ICC from 1999 to 2004. He was also the chairman of the national selection committee, and also served as the manager of the Indian cricket team. He is also involved in cricket coaching at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and has served as vice-president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).


Bibliography

On 12 March 2022, his autobiography titled 'Wrist Assured' was launched during the opening day of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Bangalore. The book was unveiled by his former teammates
Kapil Dev Kapildev Ramlal Nikhanj (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, əpil deːʋborn 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricket team captain. He is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket, he was a Fast bowling, ...
and
Sunil Gavaskar Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ born 10 July 1949), is a former captain of the Indian national cricket team who represented India national cricket team, India and Mumbai crick ...
in a brief ceremony held during the dinner break of the day/night game.


Recognition

Viswanath was awarded Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 by
BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...
which is one of the highest awards given in Indian cricket. He also received the Padma Shri award by Government of India in 1971, and
Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...
in the year 197778.


See also

* List of double centuries scored on first-class cricket debut


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viswanath, Gundappa 1949 births Living people India One Day International cricketers India Test cricket captains India Test cricketers Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Karnataka cricketers South Zone cricketers State Bank of India cricketers Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1979 Cricket World Cup Cricket match referees Indian cricket administrators Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Cricketers from Karnataka Recipients of the Arjuna Award People from Shimoga Kannada people India national cricket team selectors People from Shimoga district