Gundappa Viswanath
The elegant wristy batsman who scored a century on Test debut and a double century on first-class debut.
Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath (born 12 February 1949) is a former Indian cricketer rated as one of India's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. He played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983, making 91 appearances and scoring more than 6,000 runs. He also played in One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1982, including the World Cups of 1975 and 1979. At state level, he played for Karnataka (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.
- Test Matches
- 91
- Total Runs
- more than 6,000
- Batting Average
- over 50 against Australia and the West Indies
- Centuries
- at least 1 (century on Test debut)
- Debut Year
- 1969
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Viswanath 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. On his Test match debut, he scored a century against Australia at Kanpur in 1969 in a drawn match, and also recorded a duck in the same game — one of only four batsmen to have done this in their first match. His best performances tended to come on challenging pitches. Against Australia and the West Indies, 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 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. In 1975–76, his 112 at Port of Spain helped India to reach the victory target of 403 — at the time, the highest successful run-chase in Test cricket. In 1978–79 at Madras he top scored with 124 out of a total of 255, leading to a 1–0 series victory over the West Indies.
In Their Own Story
Viswanath also had a brief stint as the Indian captain in 1979–80. In the two Tests he captained, one was drawn and one was lost, the latter being the Golden Jubilee Test against England. 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. In March 1978, Gundappa Viswanath married Kavita, the sister of teammate Sunil Gavaskar. They have a son named Daivik and live in Bengaluru. Viswanath retired from Tests in 1983, and later served as a match referee 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). 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, unveiled by his former teammates Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar.
Reader's Guide
Viswanath played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983, making 91 appearances and scoring more than 6,000 runs. He also played in One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1982, including the World Cups of 1975 and 1979. At state level, he played for Karnataka (formerly Mysore) throughout his career. 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. He received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, the highest honour Indian board can bestow on a former player. He also received the Padma Shri award by Government of India in 1971, and Arjuna award in the year 1977–78.
Did You Know?
- Viswanath is the only cricketer to score a double century on first-class debut and a century on Test debut.
- He scored a duck and a century in the same Test match on debut, one of only four batsmen to do so.
- His 97 not out against the West Indies at Madras in 1974–75 was ranked the 38th best innings of all time by Wisden 100.
- His 112 at Port of Spain in 1975–76 helped India achieve the highest successful run-chase in Test cricket at the time.
- As captain, he recalled Bob Taylor after the umpire had given him out in the Golden Jubilee Test against England.