Gundappa Viswanath
|
Gundappa R. Viswanath (born 12 February, 1949) is an Indian cricketer, commonly regarded as one of the four great Indian batsmen along with his brother-in-law Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. He played Tests for India from 1969/70–1982/83 and One-day internationals from 1974–1982.
Viswanath's batting was epitomised by his wristy elegance and delicate timing, and he holds a peculiar record of never having scored a century in a losing cause. His unbeaten, matchwinning 97 against a rampaging Andy Roberts at Madras in 1974-75 is considered among the best knocks witnessed on Indian soil. He retired from tests with a batting average of 41.93, with his place in the pantheon of Indian greats all but assured, and went on to serve as a match referee for the ICC.