Batsman Sunil Gavaskar had his tryst with manifest destiny on 13 November 1983, when he became the leading run scorer in the history of Test cricket. Gavaskar’s scintillating knock of 90 not only erased the existing record of 8,114 runs by Geoff Boycott but also helped India end the second day of the third Test in a healthy position.

While the afternoon turned out to be quite a memorable one for the 50,000 capacity fans at the Gujarat Stadium, it would have been a unique occasion for the stalwart Indian opener if he had got the necessary 10 more runs to emerge as the all-time record holder for the highest number of centuries in test cricket. As it turned out, Gavaskar narrowly failed to surpass the total of 29 centuries that he shares with Don Bradman.

It was a thoroughly professional knock from Gavaskar, lasting 182 minutes and featuring 13 thunderous fours that silenced the dreaded West Indies pace battery for much of the afternoon.

As a result of the most impressive start given by Gavaskar and Anshuman Gaekwad, India were 173 for two in reply to West Indies’ first innings total of 281 when stumps were drawn after a prolonged final session which was extended to allow the stipulated number of overs to be completed. The pair put on 127 runs in 153 minutes before the tenacious Michael Holding struck twice, removing both openers in a 38-ball spell, conceding just 10 runs.

Gavaskar’s commanding performance completely overshadowed yet another valuable knock, this time from West Indian wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon who missed out on his maiden Test century by just two runs. It was the bearded Dujon who led a resolute rearguard action aided by tailenders Holding and Davis that saw the West Indies reach a respectable total from 209 for eight overnight.

Dujon hit 14 powerful boundaries in a 192-minute stay before committing the only error that resulted in his dismissal. A sudden rush of blood ended his quiet knock as Kapil Dev easily accepted a mis-run by left-arm spinner Shastri. Overnight on 44, Dujon was the last man out in the West Indies innings.

At the end, Test debutant Navjot Sidhu, who came in at a drop, and Sandip Patil were together. Both Sidhu and Patil had a bit of luck but they realized the importance of hanging in there to build a lead for India and struck on a cautious note. Sidhu showed great sense and kept his bat and pad together and his head above the line of the ball. In the attack, he tried only the shots he knew he could play – through the cover and from the toes.

Sidhu had a narrow escape from the second ball he faced after he took a single from Holding. A sharp shot outside off Davis dropped just short of Lloyd’s grasp at first slip. Patil on five was dropped by Haynes at short off Marshall. Patil seemed to lose patience at one stage before controlling himself and seeing through the day.

On a day when the spotlight was once again on Gavaskar, the opener decided to play some exciting shots and bordered on audacity at times. Yet he snapped and drove the West Indian pace quartet with admirable ease as the catalog of boundaries speaks for itself. He hit the first two balls from Marshall which launched the attack to extra-cover and midwicket boundaries. It set the pattern for the rest of his innings. When he was 54, Gavaskar completed a thousand runs in a calendar year for the fourth time. Later, when he took a single from Holding to reach 83, he surpassed Boycott’s existing mark of total runs. This was his 96th Test and 168th innings. Boycott had compiled his runs from 193 innings in 108 Tests.

Gavaskar was unlucky to get one of the most dangerous deliveries of the day on the eve of his 30. Try as he might, he couldn’t get his hand off a ball that rose up and took an upper edge before ending up in Lloyd’s hand at slip. This was an entertaining innings. He had shown the form in Delhi recently during the second Test. As the innings grew, Gaikwad also joined Gavaskar in breaking away violently at the West Indies attack until Holding got an inswinger through his wicket and struck off the leg stump. Gaekwad’s patient 39 consisted of six fours.

The pitch offered some encouragement to bowlers but it seemed possible to score if enough patience and application could be mustered. Throughout the day, the batsmen generally did what they wanted with breaks coming at the fall of the odd wicket. The West Indies pacemen did not make much of an impression on Gavaskar although he was in some doubt against both Marshall and Holding on a couple of occasions.

He once survived a close leg-before decision against Marshall and when he was in his twenties he almost offered a return to join his follow-up. Thereafter, Gavaskar played straighter than ever to make it an affair to remember for the legions of fans thronging India’s newest Test venue.