Sunil Gavaskar's Debut Series — 774 Runs in West Indies, 1971

Indian cricket in early 1971 was on the cusp of transformation. The team had not won a series outside the subcontinent in their entire Test history. Wadekar's appointment as captain in place of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi had been controversial. The visit to the West Indies — historically a graveyard for visiting batters against the pace of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith in the previous decade — was viewed by Indian media as a likely heavy defeat.

Gavaskar himself was a 21-year-old Mumbai opener with a Ranji Trophy reputation but no international experience. His selection had been pushed by Wadekar over the objections of those who felt he was too young and too small in stature for Caribbean conditions. The West Indies side he was about to face — though weaker than its 1960s predecessor with the loss of Hall and Griffith — still contained Sobers, Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai and Roy Fredericks.

India's preparation for the series was modest. Wadekar's tactical philosophy was to get to bat first wherever possible and rely on the spin trio of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar and Erapalli Prasanna to take twenty wickets. The batting was understood to be vulnerable; Sardesai, recalled at 30 after an undistinguished Test career, was the senior opener; Gavaskar was the prospect.

The first Test was a high-scoring draw at Sabina Park. Gavaskar, sidelined by his infection, watched. India's selectors — and Wadekar — held the door open for his second-Test selection at Port of Spain.

Gavaskar missed the first Test at Sabina Park with a fingernail infection. India, captained by Ajit Wadekar, drew that match. He came in for the second Test at Port of Spain, opening with Ashok Mankad, and made 65 and 67 not out in a famous Indian win — built on Dilip Sardesai's 112 and Salim Durani's two hand-of-God dismissals of Clive Lloyd and Garfield Sobers — that turned out to be the only result of the series.

From Bridgetown onwards Gavaskar's run-making became almost mechanical. He made 116 and 64 not out in the third Test, 1 and 117 not out in the fourth, and 124 and 220 in the fifth at Port of Spain, where India batted out a difficult final-day chase to win the series. The final aggregate of 774 in four Tests at 154.80, with four centuries including a double, was the highest run aggregate ever recorded by a debutant in a Test series and remains so. He was 21 years old.

“It was Gavaskar / The real master / Just like a wall / We couldn't out Gavaskar at all.”

“I was 21. I went there to learn. I came back having scored 774 runs. I do not think I quite understood what had happened.”

Gavaskar returned to India a household name. The poet and lyricist Lord Relator's calypso "It Was Gavaskar / The Real Master / Just Like a Wall / We Couldn't Out Gavaskar At All" became the soundtrack of the homecoming. He carried the form into England later that year, where Wadekar's side would also win their first ever Test series in England, sealed by Chandrasekhar's 6/38 at the Oval.

The 1971 calendar year — first series wins in both the West Indies and England — is the moment Indian cricket shifted from a subcontinent power into a touring force. Gavaskar's role in that shift was foundational. He would not score a Test century in England in 1971, but he had already, at 21, taken the position at the top of the Indian order that he would hold for fifteen years.