Let’s roll the tape back to March 7, 1987. No Instagram, no Twitter, no TikTok trends—just pure, unfiltered cricket. In the heart of Ahmedabad, the crowd watches in awe as Sunil Gavaskar, the man with a rock-solid technique and unshakable confidence, moves to 58 in the Test match against Pakistan. And then, cricket history is made.
Play stops. The noise is deafening. The stadium erupts in celebration. Why? Because Gavaskar has just become the first cricketer ever to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. A milestone so rare, it felt almost mythical—like a unicorn sighting in broad daylight. And yet, here he was, rewriting the record books with nothing but sheer grit and skill.
Now, let’s put things in perspective. He achieved this feat in an era with no high-tech cricketing gear, no protective helmets as advanced as today’s, and no pitch monitoring technology. Just him, his bat, and bowlers who breathed fire with their pace and aggression. Facing the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Imran Khan was no joke, but Gavaskar didn’t just survive—he dominated.
Reaching the 10K mark wasn’t just about personal glory. It shattered the belief that such a number was unattainable. Before him, scoring even 8,000 Test runs was seen as a legendary feat. But Gavaskar? He made the impossible look routine.
So, the next time your dad tells you that every adjective used for Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli—legendary, genius, master—was once reserved for Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, trust him. Because before anyone else, he set the benchmark. And cricket was never the same again.
